Saturday at the Hut - 8/25/12

As Hurricane Isaac bears down on Florida, several of us gathered at The Tobacco Hut to have our own mini-hurricane party. In attendance were Joe K, Peter G, Scott R, Tom L, Lou, and myself. I sat down and enjoyed a bowl full of Lou's Baker Street tobacco in a Crown Viking freehand. Most excellent!

Even in the face of the Republican National Convention starting this week (although Day 1 has been cancelled due to Isaac), political talk was kept to a minimum. Until Tom arrived. But before Tom could unleash his anti-progressive diatribes, I issued him a challenge, thanks to an item Scott brought with him.

Scott, as many of you know, is our resident pocket knife expert. He blogs extensively about his passion at Pocketknivesblog.com and he often brings in new acquisitions to show off. Saturday he brought in a knife that he obtained in an eBay auction that still had the original price sticker on it. It was faded and yellowed, but clearly read "Value Stores - $1.99". We weren't sure, but we're guessing that based on the price, the knife probably came from the 1960s.

The trick knife Scott bequeathed to me.
(click to enlarge)

What I found more interesting however, was the other knife Scott brought in. Pictured at left, Scott handed it to me to examine. I struggled to open it though as there was no nail nick in which to insert my fingernail. And there wasn't enough of the blade showing to grasp it firmly. I was stymied, so Scott kindly demonstrated how to open it. It's actually a trick knife, consisting of a little pin inside that locks the blade closed. There's a special way to open it, holding the knife blade pointing upward, squeezing the blade and jerking it downward dislodges the pin, allowing the blade to open. To close it, you basically reverse the actions just described.

A little research on this knife revealed that it was made by Imperial, as Scott had told me, and the patent number on the blade indicated that it was updated by Imperial in 1954, from a previously held patents dating from 1939 and 1942. This knife also had an imprint on the blade: "You can rely on Certified". It was especially appropriate that Scott obtained this knife as he is also a promotional advertising guru extraordinaire.

Scott surprised me by actually giving me the knife! Knowing my love of magic and puzzles, he wanted me to have it. Thanks Scott - much appreciated.

When Tom arrived, I offered him $5 if he could open the knife. Tom had to borrow Scott's "cheaters" so he could even see the knife, and as he was examining it, I set forth the conditions. Five minute time limit, he had to open it by the method intended (not use pliers, or other tools to pry the blade loose), and he could not destroy the knife in the process (he had threatened to run it over with his truck). Tom tried and tried, but was unable to open it in the time limit allotted. Phew! I only had a single dollar bill on me, and I don't think Tom would have accepted a check.

Speaking of bets, Joe and I made a bet. A political bet. I mentioned that the main broadcast networks were only barely covering the RNC this coming week. I think each network was only going to be broadcasting live from the convention one hour per day in primetime. The reasoning was that modern political conventions, for both parties, were nothing more than five day long infomercials and nothing really newsworthy occurred. Joe agreed, but commented that they would be all over the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. I disagreed, saying that they would cover it in the same minimal amount as the RNC. We bet a cigar. Can't wait to enjoy my victory cigar!

Joe is planning a trip soon to visit family in Erie, PA, and I recommended he take a couple hours and visit Letchworth State Park in western NY. It's provided the inspiration behind my novel-in-progress (read about it here) and has supplied me with numerous photo-taking opportunities over the years. In fact, we're planning a trip to the area in the fall, perfectly timed for the leaves changing. Something I haven't experienced in a long time living in Florida.

BTW, congratulations to Lou for officially becoming an old fart. He turned 85 years old on Saturday. And a huge congratulations to both Lou and Dotty for celebrating their 53rd wedding anniversary this coming week.

Cheers!

Saturday at the Hut - 8/13/11

Today was one of the liveliest and most fun Saturdays at The Tobacco Hut in a long time! In attendance were Joe K, Vic, Tom L, Lou, and me. And, winning the Traveled-The-Furthest-To-Attend Award was Mike G, all the way from Tennessee. And he brought his son-in-law Bob with him.

It was a wild affair from the start when Vic brought in a large cooler filled with, of all things, deli meats. As many of you know, Vic "knows a guy" in New York who makes homemade various kinds of sausages, deli meats, and liverwurst. We've had recent tastings of liverwurst and apparently Joe placed a monster order, which Vic delivered today. Tom and I sat in amazement while they actually weighed out various amounts of meat on Lou's tobacco scale. Don't know if Vic kept the proverbial thumb on the scale or not.

Joe amassed a fairly large quantity of various and sundry meats, money was exchanged, and it was all wrapped up and put back in the cooler for safe keeping. At one point, Tom made a grab for the cooler, but Joe gave him the "Look of Death", and Tom slowly eased back into his chair. I don't think I've seen Joe as protective of something since he leaped out of his chair and chased some kids with a shopping cart away from his car ten years ago.

Vic also brought in copious amounts of cheese, including a delicious Welsh cheddar cheese from Sam's Club. Actually, all the cheeses he brought in were from Sam's Club and, although I'm reluctant to admit it since I hate all things associated with Wal-Mart, it was all very good.

Tom had never tried liverwurst before, so one of the frozen chubs was put outside to thaw. Crackers were opened and Tom was soon no longer a liverwurst virgin. I won't describe what Tom did with the 18" long chub of liverwurst before it was sliced open. Suffice to say that the woman across the parking lot at the Windmill water station was more than a bit surprised.

Before I forget, I have to point something out - something that everyone said wouldn't make it onto the blog. Vic brought his iPad in and was trying to find his bookmarks. He brought up the bookmark menu, but the actual links weren't there. He asked if I would take a look at it, so I did, being the "Apple Guy". Well, I couldn't find them either and suggested that somehow they had been deleted. At that point, Joe (I think it was Joe, may have been Mike's son-in-law Bob) clicked the "Bookmarks" button and all the bookmarks magically appeared. So yes, I didn't know something. However, Vic later asked if I could expand a chess game on the iPad to fill the screen and I successfully did that, so I believe I am vindicated.

Vic announced a new business venture - selling his prized nuts. It's not as bizarre as it sounds. He's actually licensed a cart from The Nutty Bavarian. He'll be setting up shop soon in the Red Barn flea market in Bradenton, selling cinnamon-glazed roasted peanuts, cashews, pecans, and almonds. Vic has a friend who's been doing it up north and has been quite successful with it, so he's taken the plunge and very shortly Vito Paul's Nutty Bavarian cart will be open for business. Congratulations, Vic, and good luck to you!

Vic has traded in his prison guard uniform for that of the Nutty Bavarian - glazed roasted nut extraordinaire!

Of course, being typical, immature guys we couldn't let the opportunity pass without making numerous references to Vic's nuts. Most were too vulgar to repeat in a family-friendly forum. Too bad Scott wasn't here today; Vic showed off an awesome knife. Scott, you would have been drooling, my friend.

One of the funniest moments (of which the printed word will probably not do it justice) occurred when Mike was telling Tom, Lou, and me about a recent trip he and his wife took to a small town in North Carolina. One of their stops was at a cupcake shop. Now, for those of you who know Mike, you'll have to picture every unique-to-Mike nuance and inflection in the following dialogue:

Mike: Now I'm not real big on cupcakes, but they had a snicker-doodle cupcake -
Lou: A snicker-doodle cupcake?! (apparently Lou loves snicker-doodles)
Mike: Yeah, a snicker-doodle cupcake. And it was out of this world.
Tom: Did you bring one back for Lou?
Mike: What?
Tom: Did you bring one back for Lou?
Mike: Yeah (reaching into his pocket), I got your snicker-doodle cupcake right here. I've been walking around for two weeks with this thing in my pocket to give to Lou. Just disregard all the lint and it might be a little stale, but enjoy!

Now if you know Mike, imagine him saying those last lines absolutely dripping with his one-of-a-kind sarcasm, and the rest of us absolutely busting a gut laughing. Tom and I were practically in tears.

Throughout the day, Joe and Tom were involved in high-level negotiations regarding some sort of probably illegal boat transfer to James in Atlanta. Today had it all - a little earlier Tom and I witnessed Joe passing Bob some kind of substance marked "Dramamine". Not sure what that was all about, and probably don't want to know. Deli meats from a questionable source, boat transports, Dramamine transfers, Vic's nuts...the mind reels.

At another point in the day an African-American father of three came into the store with his three young boys selling M&M's as a fundraiser. The boys were a little shy, but explained that it was for their school and it was for a "Night of Stars". Tom asked them who some of the stars would be in attendance and one of them replied with the name of some black artist that none of us had ever heard of. After a moment of silence, the father said, as explanation, "It's a black thing!" and we all burst out laughing. The wallets opened up and M&M's were purchased. After they left, Mike brought out his trusty pair of dice and said, "Bring those kids back here and let's play with these. It's a white thing!"

We were hoping that Darryl would show up. He had e-mailed Lou and me earlier in the week saying that he had been under the weather but was hoping to make it today. Hope you're still on the mend, Darryl, and can make it in soon. Peter was in Ft. Myers, but he said hello to everyone via phone when I called him. No sign of Paul O, who's been stopping in regularly for the past several weeks. Adrian apparently came in yesterday, but was afraid to show up today for fear of losing his second game in a row of chess.

I'm sure I've forgotten numerous things that occurred today, but what a fun day at the Hut!

By the way, today saw me smoking a Crown Viking freehand I bought from Lou several years ago. I had it filled with a new tobacco for me, Wilderness. It's created by blender Fred Hanna and put out by McClelland. I got it from a guy on Smokers Forums and today was the first day I tried it. What a wonderful tobacco! It has Virginias, Orientals, and both Cyprian and Syrian Latakias. The layers of flavor were readily apparent and it was a smooth, but rich tobacco. Lou filled up a bowl as well and enjoyed it with me.

A shout out to Lou for cleaning, sanitizing, and polishing up a pipe of mine I'm sending off to the guy on the same forum. It was an H. Jones Easy Loader originally owned by my stepfather. I got it when he passed away several years ago and I don't smoke it too often anymore, so I thought why not pass it along to someone who will enjoy it.

Until next week!
 - Bob

Saturday at the Hut - 8/6/11

First, a heartfelt and sincere apology for not writing the blog last week. Joe K was out of town and was relying on it to find out what he missed and Tom L has suddenly become my biggest fan, addicted to everything I write. When he walked in today, he practically screamed at me for not writing the blog last week (in fact, he did scream at me - it was very frightening).

Thankfully I already had my pipe loaded when Tom launched into his tirade. My hands were shaking so badly afterward, I don't think I could have managed to put more than a few crumbs of tobacco in it. Much like the measly economic crumbs Tom and his neo-conservative friends allow to trickle down to the masses. C'mon! I'm the token liberal in the group...I'm allowed the occasional jab at Tom, et al.

Anyway, today found me smoking a David Jones rusticated billiard filled with G.L. Pease's very tasty Westminster. It has the perfect amount of Latakia in it and has a great flavor. The aroma will probably only be pleasing to fellow smokers. It's been my experience that tobaccos with Latakia don't have a particularly nice aroma to non-smokers. Oh well, I was surrounded by smokers and nobody complained.

Last week we discovered that Lou was a telegram courier in an earlier life. It was his first job, working for a company called Postal Telegraph Company. Alas, they couldn't compete with Western Union, perhaps because they didn't give Lou a bicycle with which to deliver his telegrams. Instead, he walked. We all had some good natured fun picturing Lou walking leisurely along making his urgent deliveries. I was able to locate an image of a Postal Telegraph telegram on the web and display it here in the hopes that it will bring back fond memories for Lou.

Need to get a message to someone fast? Use Postal Telegraph and ask for Lou!

Lou also revealed that shortly after the telegram courier job, he went to work for a florist. Not as a florist, but making deliveries primarily (walking?). He did say that he occasionally arranged some of the flowers as well. Good to know that Lou is in touch with his feminine side.

And it's OK for a man to be in touch with his feminine side. Note to Paul O...I'll have you know I enjoyed Key Largo very much.

Before we get too far afield, today's attendees included Tom L, Joe K, Peter G, Paul O, Adrian, Lou, and myself. Joe was in Atlanta last week, helping his son James close on his first house and get settled in. Congrats to James on the house! We will naturally be expecting invitations to the housewarming party. Of course, none of us were invited to the wedding, so I'm not going to hold my breath for the housewarming party.

The talk turned to politics, not surprisingly with the rancor in Congress about raising the debt ceiling, but our discourse was actually fairly civil. I think it shows that among reasonable people, the anger and disgust is actually aimed toward our esteemed lawmakers in Washington (of both parties), who are far more concerned with positioning themselves well for the next election than doing what's right for the country.

Joe and I talked computers and Tom is considering purchasing an iPad. Probably if Apple was on the verge of releasing an iPad 3, Joe would have sold Tom his iPad 2 in the store, as he is wont to do from time to time.

I regaled the assembled with tales from the book I'm currently reading, King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terrorism, and Heroism in Colonial Africa by Adam Hochschild. I know Joe especially likes to hear what book I have my nose in, but I didn't realize how much Paul was eager to hear about it. I suppose the snoring should have clued me in.

We also came dangerously close to talking about women's stuff, with an extended discussion about couponing. Fortunately, the talk turned to sports or something before we moved on to makeup and shoes.

After Joe, Paul, and Tom left, Peter and I discussed how things were going with his new job and sales in general. Adrian arrived but not in time for a game of chess. No matter, I'm still the reigning champion. He pledged that he would come in earlier next week so perhaps I'll offer him a rematch. In any case, when we do play again, Adrian will be white. We know Adrian secretly prefers to be white, as do most folks. Being black puts you at a disadvantage right off the bat. Truth be told, I can't remember who played what when he beat me three games in a row, so in the end it probably doesn't make any difference who plays with the white pieces and who plays with the black (plus I've run out of racial double entendres).

Cheers!
 - Bob

Saturday at the Hut - 7/23/11

We had a smaller crowd at The Tobacco Hut today than the last several Saturdays. Not standing room only like last week, but a more intimate assembly. No vodka and liverwurst either, so I had to make do with peanut butter pretzels and Mountain Dew. No matter. In attendance today were Paul O, Joe K, Lou and me...and Adrian made an extended appearance!

I was joking with Adrian that a group picture had been taken a couple years ago that included him in the background. At the time, Adrian was just the black guy who breezed in and out and we didn't really know too much about him. In fact, I remember looking at the picture when I posted it to the blog back then and thinking, "Who the hell is that guy?".

From left: Tom L, Steve B (sitting), Bob H (your humble narrator), Joe K ("Thank You Jesus" pose), Peter G (sitting), Lou, Adrian (who is that guy?), James K, Ed B.
(Click to enlarge)

I did a little searching and found the blog post in question and am re-posting the picture above. The occasion was a party we had for James K, Joe's son, who was moving back east for his job. You can read the blog post here - it sounds like we had a good time back then.

Even with the debate and rhetoric over the debt ceiling raging in Washington, our discussion today remained pretty sedate. I tried to stir the pot a little, but no one took the bait. I think what's more pressing is whether professional football will be played this fall or not. We obviously have our priorities in order.

Joe was thoroughly enjoying his La Gloria Artesanos de Tabaqueros cigar and - best of all - he didn't complain once during the entire smoke! Typically for Joe, it will canoe or unravel or become too tight to draw through or taste funny or get a stem in it or go out or have an odd smell or the band will give him a paper cut. But this time, Joe was smoking perfection! Woohoo!

Glad to see Paul O sticking around. We could have called him the "White Adrian" because he would often breeze in and out, but the last couple weeks he's settled right in and enjoyed a cigar or two. Hope to see you next week again Paul!

Now the best news of all. Not only did Adrian show up but we actually played a game of chess. Typically when he does show up on a Saturday he'll make up some excuse why he can't play. He adopts his old "breeze in and out" persona, claiming that Mrs. Adrian is waiting in the car and doesn't have time for a game. Of course, he only started doing this once he had three victories in a row under his belt.

But today he sat down and, after everyone else had left, we broke out the chessboard. Hell, I was about ready to just take it home one of these weeks, thinking he would never sit down for a game. I'm glad I kept the board at the Hut though. Especially an hour and a half later when I emerged victorious! Adrian had me on the ropes about midway through the game, but the turning point was when I forked two of his pieces, a bishop and rook, with my pawn, and I was able to go up a piece. I still had to be careful, 'cause Adrian is quite resourceful and always has a surprise or two up his sleeve, but I held on and, with just a few pieces left on the board, he resigned.

He has pledged to return next Saturday, anxious to regain his crown. Maybe I'll do a disappearing act for the next few months so I can rest on my laurels - LOL!

Cheers!
 - Bob

Saturday at the Hut - 7/16/11

Sorry I'm a couple days late in filing this report. Saturday evening our air conditioning went on the fritz and was finally up and running this afternoon (Monday). Just didn't feel like banging out a blog post when the inside temperature was 92º.

Anyway, Saturday at The Tobacco Hut was standing room only as we had a dozen guys in attendance. Besides Lou and me, the roll call included Peter G, Joe K, Ed B, Jim C, Paul O, Vic and his cousin Russ, Tom L, Steve B, and Arnie. Arnie called his brother-in-law, Don, in North Carolina, and put him on speaker so we'll let that count.

Before I get to the savory treats provided by some of the fellows, I have to point something out that was a little troubling. Tom L apparently keeps a picture taken long ago of James K, Joe's son. I'm thinking Tom has a bit of a man crush on James, and was probably heartbroken to hear of James' wedding a couple months ago. Sorry, Tom, couldn't resist - you were giving me a rash of crap because I didn't know how to hold Arnie's iPhone. In retrospect, I guess I deserved it after I introduced you to Arnie as our resident a**hole. Maybe I should have softened the label by calling you our resident wiseass instead.

Paul O has been in many times, but seldom stays for long. This Saturday, however, he settled in for the duration. Paul works in the funeral business, selling pre-planned funeral arrangements. He is also gifted with a great sense of humor, and his choice of profession lends itself to many jokes and stories. So stop by often, Paul, we enjoyed hearing them!

Lou ringing up a big
sale - note the large bag
on the counter.
(Click to enlarge)

Lou was in an especially good mood since the cash register was ringing a lot, including a big sale of 5 lbs. of roll-your-own cigarette tobacco. That's Lou at the counter ringing up the huge bag of it. Whenever a customer walks out of the store with a bag that large, Lou's a happy man.

Vic mentioned that while he enjoys the blog, especially the photo of him that I doctored up last week showing him on his scooter with the bright purple handlebar streamers, I never include stories that poke fun at me. Now, be assured that I find myself in the barrel quite often, to use the terminology of the Hut. But...as writer of the blog, I exercise certain literary freedoms, and one of them is that I like to remain relatively unscathed and not draw attention to the barbs aimed in my direction. It's far more fun for me to recount the jokes at others' expenses. You are free, of course, to leave a comment on any of the blog posts if I've omitted anything!

Vic brought in a chub of homemade liverwurst from upstate New York. Joe brought in the crackers, and the feast was set up on the end counter. Quite a few people enjoyed the Braunschweiger, which originated in the city of Braunschweig in the Brunswick province of Germany. This particular liverwurst is made by a guy in western New York that Vic knows. Vic has brought quite a few chubs of liverwurst and other deli meats with him in his various travels from the north.

Arnie actually brought in
a full bottle of the blue-
berry Vodka, but it didn't
take long for us to drink
half of it.
(Click to enlarge)

Arnie brought an ice cold bottle of Norwegian vodka, Vikingfjord. He was telling us about it last week, along with Aquavitt. He didn't have any of the latter with him, but he did bring us a bottle of this blueberry flavored vodka. It's made with purified, distilled glacier water and it was quite good. I had a couple small shots of it and the blueberry flavor was distinct, but not overpowering by any means. It actually went well with the pipeful of G.L. Pease's Westminster I was enjoying. Indeed, in Arnie's honor, I was smoking a Nording pipe. Now Erik Nording isn't from Norway, rather Denmark, but it's all Scandinavia. The vodka did not go too well with the remainder of my Mountain Dew however.

Vic brought his cousin Russ in for a visit. Russ is visiting the Rochester, New York area and, we discovered after a bit, that he went to school (as did Vic) with a cousin of mine in Avon, NY. He's also friends with a cousin on my father's side, who also lives in Avon. Definitely a small world. Russ is a liquor and wine sales representative, so he and Peter had some common challenges to explore as Peter is in food sales.

Russ almost committed a fatal error by sitting in Lou's chair when he arrived. In Russ's defense, the chair was empty and I...well, I encouraged him to sit in it. Lou was more forgiving than I thought he would be, and after Vic fell from his scooter to one of the regular chairs, Russ took up his position on the scooter (sans handlebar streamers).

A shout out to Leah, Vic's wife. I became friends with her today on Facebook. I've looked for Vic on Facebook, but can't seem to find him there.

A little later in the day, Steve was talking to a customer about something I found interesting. The customer had suffered a heart attack a few months ago and is trying to maintain a healthier diet. Steve recommended he look at a website called Mark's Daily Apple. The creator of the site, Mark Sisson, has developed a "primal" diet. Acknowledging that humans have only been farming for the last 10,000 years, but began evolving millions of years before that, Mark eschews foods containing the various grains and sugars, instead favoring primarily meat and vegetables. I won't go into the whole diet and philosophy here, but check out his website. It's very extensive and understandable and makes a lot of sense. It boils down to a primal diet, i.e. eating what our ancestors ate, which was whatever they could pick or kill. Peter had asked for the website from Steve, which he gave him, but I thought a wider audience could benefit from it.

Another shout out, this time to Jim C, and his new (to him) 1978 Corvette. Sorry I don't have a picture to show, but this is one fine looking - and sounding - machine. If you ever get tired of it, Jim, and just want to give it away, keep me in mind!

Paper bead necklace; beads
imported from Uganda.
(Click to enlarge)

One more thing...as many of you know, Paula has been making bracelets with paper beads that come from Africa. She has now just started making necklaces from the same beads. Bracelets are still only $5 and necklaces start at $20, depending on the size. I'll be adding photos of the necklaces to her website, Paper Bead Bracelets but, for now, you can see what the necklaces look like here.

That's it for this week.

 - Bob

P.S. In the weeks to come, you may see some unobtrusive advertising from Amazon along the right "rail" of the blog. I'm exploring ways to monetize the blog, but only if I can find a way to do it that isn't distracting and is relevant to the subject at hand. If you have any feedback regarding this, please don't hesitate to let me know, good, bad or ugly. Thanks!

Saturday at the Hut - 7/9/11

Saturday was a well-attended and fun-filled day at The Tobacco Hut. The roll call included Joe K, Peter G, Vic, Coast Guard Don (two weeks in a row for Don!), Barry (although he came later in the afternoon), and a newcomer to Saturdays - Arnie, Don's brother in law. And, of course, Lou and myself. A little more about Don and Arnie in a minute, but first, I think we need to change Vic's nickname to ScooterPoot or something.

Apparently, he tore a ligament in his left leg several weeks ago and was wearing a boot until it healed. Well, it didn't heal properly and now he's wearing a full hard cast over his foot and almost up to his knee. Lou signed it with a loving, encouraging message of good will ("Too bad, Lou"), but the rest of us were more interested in the little scooter Vic was tooling around in.

Vic's scooter with pretty
handlebar streamers.
(Click to enlarge)

Vic wheeled himself to the restroom and on his way back, Arnie surreptitiously snapped a photo of him trying to navigate his way out of the back room. (Lou, to avoid an ADA lawsuit, you'll probably want to widen the doorway to the back, widen the bathroom door, and install grab bars). We had talked about what accessories Vic should add to the scooter, like a big orange warning flag to the back, a cute basket in front, or chrome wheels. But I think the consensus was that he should add bicycle handlebar streamers. So, thanks to the magic of Photoshop, I have outfitted Vic's scooter with adorable purple and white streamers. I think Vic said he's hoping to have the cast off in a few days so won't be needing the scooter anymore, but hopefully he'll take our kind suggestions to heart and install the streamers before he turns the scooter back in.

I enjoyed a bowlful of Baker Street in a pipe I haven't smoked in probably ten years. It was a Savinelli unfinished tomato shape with Lucite stem. I obtained it when I worked at the Tinder Box in Columbus and smoked it so much at the time that it darkened up quite nicely. I added a coat of wax to it and buffed it up and, other than a few spots of putty, it's a good smoking pipe. I'll probably add it back into the rotation.

Coast Guard Lockheed HC-130H
based at Clearwater Air Station
that Don may or may not fly
or work on in some capacity.
(Click to enlarge)

This was Don's second visit in as many weeks, but he'll be shipping off to North Carolina, so it will be awhile before we see him again, I'm afraid. For the next couple days, Don is stationed at the Clearwater Coast Guard station but, my apologies to Don, I can't remember if he said he works on or flies a particular type of airplane. He was talking with Joe about a certain plane last week. I know he said he flies, but not sure if he flies for work or pleasure. In any case, I located a photo of a plane that is based at the Clearwater station and include it here for your viewing pleasure. (The photo was taken at an air show somewhere, but doesn't look like Florida). Trivia time: What is the Coast Guard's official motto? It's Latin, and bonus points if you can translate it. Answers at the end of the blog.

Don's brother in law, Arnie, is a pilot for Continental Airlines. He is also originally from Norway although Vic and I tried to place his slight accent as Scottish or Irish at first. Arnie has lived in the States for quite awhile now, in Pennsylvania, but is looking to relocate to Florida sometime in the future. One could say that by migrating from Norway to North America, he has followed in his ancestors' footsteps, since the Vikings actually discovered North America before Columbus did. Archaeological digs in Labrador and parts of Newfoundland prove that the Norse lived in North America five hundred years before Columbus "discovered" the New World. Truth be told, neither Columbus nor the Vikings actually discovered America. Various indigenous tribes had been living here quite happily for thousands of years before any Europeans set foot in the Americas.

Continental 767 similar to what
Arnie flies.
(Click to enlarge)

Arnie flies 767's on mostly international routes and, in his honor, I have included a pretty cool photo of just such a plane. I stole the photo from someone's website, thanks to Google Images. It shows a heavy layer of condensation accumulating on the wings and in the engine intakes.

Arnie had lots to say about life in Norway which, as is most of Europe, a socialist capitalist society. I thought I would no longer be the lone liberal in the room when he explained that for years he always leaned more to the left, but now has swung over to the dark side (my words, not his) and is more right-leaning. Joe erupted with a "Thank you, Jesus!" and when Arnie identified himself as a Christian, I knew I was once again the token Godless communist in the room.

Peter is doing well in his new position as food service sales representative, having opened a new account this past week. I told him that Paula and I were headed to Mr. Souvlaki in Tarpon Springs for dinner. By the way, we ran into Undertaker Tom at the restaurant. He advised the waiter to watch out for me, as I was one of the biggest "dine and dashers" in the county. Thanks Tom, I felt like I had to tip extra big to make up for the guy's newfound suspicion of me.

Arnie and Don spoke at length about preparing various foods. Don apparently has a 1000 lb. meat smoker and Arnie explained how to salt and age various meats. Peter, Vic, and Joe were all salivating, especially when Arnie was talking about preparing and cooking leg of lamb. It was all quite interesting, even to someone like me who can barely make Jello without burning it.

Aquavit, or akevitt in Norwegian,
served in traditional tulip-
shaped glasses.
(Click to enlarge)

Arnie also had everyone salivating about aquavit, a vodka-like spirit that originated in Scandinavia and is obviously one of Arnie's favorite drinks. He has pledged to bring some one day for us to sample and I'm sure if we announce it ahead of time, the Hut will be packed that day. Akevitt, as it is spelled in Norwegian, is distilled from grain or, as is the case in Norway, from potatoes and blended with spices such as caraway, cumin, and anise. A little research on Wikipedia discovered that, although many Scandinavian countries drink aquavit, Norway's production and consumption of it is unique. In fact, Arnie mentioned that the akevitt is aged in oak casks that are transported by ship from the colder northern latitudes southward past the equator and back north again, to gradually change the temperature of the liquor, all to assist in the proper aging.

We watched as Derek Jeter got his 3000th hit, becoming only the 28th player in major league history to accomplish that feat, and the second to do it with a home run (Wade Boggs doing it first, as a Devil Rays player). Vic was kind enough to call Barry at work to let him know we all witnessed history while he was digging a ditch. Barry came later in the day, but everyone had left by that time except me. Sorry you missed the fun, Barry!

That's it for now. Safe travels to Don and Arnie and hope to see them again soon. Arnie said he would try to make it next Saturday and Vic was hoping to as well, but after seeing the above picture, he might stay away for awhile.

Oh yes, the Coast Guard motto is Semper Paratus, which is Latin for "Always Ready", not to be confused with the Marine's motto, Semper Fidelis, or "Always Faithful."

Until next week...
 - Bob

Saturday at the Hut - 7/2/11

We had a nice crowd at The Tobacco Hut today - Tom L, Joe K, Peter G, Ed B, and Don. Don's not new to the Hut, but he's not a Saturday regular. He's in the Coast Guard and is actually being stationed out of the area in a couple weeks. His reputation actually precedes him, as Lou has talked about his barbecuing prowess in past conversations. Once the topic of food preparation came up, Peter and Don were off to the races, talking about marinades and the art of dry aging steaks.

Peter shared with me something very personal and private, and normally any secrets entrusted to me are "in the vault" but I can't keep something this momentous in. Peter said that he heard an interesting news report...on NPR! Yesss! Another convert! Yet another person who has seen the light of fair and objective broadcast journalism. I think he said something about making a donation come pledge time too! Okay, I just made that last part up, but I'm just happy he's listening.

Joe actually smoked two cigars - well, one and a half. His usual go-to cigar, the Padron, has been inconsistent lately and Lou gave him a new one to try. Didn't catch the name of it, but Joe seemed to enjoy it.

I was smoking the Cavicchi Paula had given to me for Christmas a couple years ago. The Dunhill 965 tasted wonderful in it, the touch of Latakia adding a perfect amount of pungency to the aroma and a subtle "roundness" in the taste.

Tomorrow I'll be headed up to my mother's in Spring Hill for our 4th of July cookout and, thanks to Vic and Ed F, it'll be extra special flavors of home. A couple weeks ago when Vic came up for the Father's Day party, he gave me a 4-pack of red hots from Rochester. There will be a couple folks reading this blog that are very familiar with red hots and white hots and their unique flavor. Ed F also surprised me with Stadium Mustard from Cleveland. Can't wait to try out the combination of the two. A big thank you to Ed and Vic!

The talk today was a little political in nature, but nothing too contentious. Tom L didn't even make one "Libby" remark to me. He must not have been feeling well.

Other topics included the age-old debate about who was sexier, Barbara Eden of I Dream of Genie or Elizabeth Montgomery of Bewitched. Elizabeth Montgomery got a vote, but the overwhelming winner was Barbara Eden.

Joe informed us that his son James is closing on a house soon in Atlanta. Congratulations to James and his new bride!

Toward the end of the day, it was just Peter and I and Lou sitting around chatting. Talk happily turned to pipe making and Peter was taking quite an interest in the subject. I was kind of hoping he would not only convert to NPR but to a pipe as well, but I think he's content with his one cigar a week habit. Anyway, I promised I would put up the link again from a previous post on a pipe making video segment from the program Modern Marvels.

I had blogged about the program a couple years ago and provided the link to the YouTube video that included the segment. I located the old post but when I tried the link I got the dreaded message that "This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by A&E."

Undaunted, I did locate a video on the Peterson Pipe website that shows their process for pipemaking. It's a short video, less than 12 minutes, and interested readers might find it enlightening. It can be found here.

BTW, thank you to the folks who took the survey that was posted for the past two weeks. The results are as follows: 50% of respondents are regulars to the Hut who read the blog to find out the spin on what happened, 40% are occasional visitors and like to read the blog to keep up with what's happening at the Hut, and 10% are out of the area and read the blog to stay in touch. Again, thank you for participating and maybe I'll come up with another survey soon.

Happy 4th of July everyone!

 - Bob

Saturday at the Hut - 6/25/11

It was a fun day at The Tobacco Hut where the time just seemed to fly by. I got there around 12:30 and Joe K had just arrived. I settled in with one of the Crown Viking freehands I bought from Lou a couple years ago. Filled with G.L. Pease's Chelsea Morning tobacco, it was a wonderful smoke. Chelsea Morning consists of Virginias, Orientals, Latakia and a pinch of Perique. The Latakia is in just the right amount to balance out the sweetness of the Virginias. In every puff, the pungent Cyprus Latakia reminded me that this is why I love English tobaccos so much.


Joe took delight in pointing out that those wacky liberals in New York state passed the gay marriage law yesterday. I was wearing my "Think Outside the Fox" t-shirt, so I was able to ward off any political attacks with ease. That and my NPR shirt are like Superman capes, able to withstand any right wing assaults.


Peter arrived shortly thereafter and handed me my first order for promotional products! Thank you Peter - very much appreciated! He also purchased four more of Paula's paper bead bracelets. Another big thank you to Peter! I got a closer look at his new car today, the Kia Soul, later in the afternoon. What a cool car. It appears relatively small, but is actually quite roomy on the inside. Very stylish as well.


Ed B arrived and we ended up talking movies, TV shows, and old comedians. We remarked how Peter Falk had passed away yesterday, and talked about other really old actors, many of whom we thought were already dead. In fact, Peter mentioned a Boston DJ who runs a sort of dead pool on aging actors. Wasn't there a pretty poor Dirty Harry sequel called, in fact, "The Dead Pool"? I wonder if Clint Eastwood is on this dead pool...


Scott R's brother-in-law Jeff came in and bought some cigars. He's been in before, but we've never really talked to him. He stayed for awhile so it was nice to get to know him. I don't think he planned on staying as long as he did, especially without actually smoking a cigar, but he obviously experienced the lure of the Hut and got sucked into the conversation.


We covered a myriad of subjects, from why the Rays' attendance is so poor, DirecTV versus Verizon FIOS versus Brighthouse, and even computer networking (Jeff's specialty). I hope we see more of Jeff in Saturdays to come.


Speaking of Scott R, he e-mailed me a couple photos from his recent stay in Maine. As many of you know, he has migrated northward and is now settled in his hometown of Palmyra, New York. Here are those photos, posted with Scott's permission. Nice shots, Scott - keep 'em coming!

Photos from Scott R's recent visit to Maine
(Click to enlarge)

Toward the end of the day, it was just Lou and me, and we talked about some of the various trips and vacations we've taken over the years. He said that one of his most memorable trips was when he and Dotty drove to Maine and beyond, eventually ending up in the Peggy's Cove area of Nova Scotia, back in the late 1960's. I was in Peggy's Cove just a couple years ago, so am posting this picture just for Lou. I took it just a few minutes before the fog rolled in completely and obscured most of the view. Hope it brings back good memories for you, Lou!

Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia
(Click to enlarge)

Lou asked me if Paula and I were going out to dinner tonight and I said no, she was preparing Shepherd's Pie for us. Lou remarked that he had never had it, so I explained what was in it and he said it sounded pretty good. Indeed it was, Lou! In fact, if you follow this link to Paula's blog, Positively Perfectly Paula, she put the recipe up for all to enjoy. We shared this recipe, which was actually my mother's, a couple years ago with a friend of ours and she loved it so much she fixed it six times in a month's time for her and her husband!


Well, at the risk of turning this into a cooking blog, I better sign off now!


Cheers!
 - Bob

Saturday at the Hut - 6/18/11

Today was the much-anticipated Father's Day Celebration at The Tobacco Hut, and we had a nice turnout. I'll do rollcall in a moment, but first a shout out to Darryl G and Lou for putting everything together. Darryl supplied wings, chips, pretzels, peanuts, and even adult beverages. Lou - well, Dotty - supplied delicious homemade cookies. I brought in a tray of pinwheel-rollup-appetizer things that Paula picked up at Target.

We had quite a few in attendance this afternoon: the aforementioned Darryl and his son Greg, Joe K, Vic, Peter G, Box Ed, Major Ed, Preacher Jim, Barry C, Tarpon Cop Scott, Kevin & Paul (don't know their last names, but see them from time to time), and another guy of whom I don't know his first or last name.

Vic was kind enough to bring in a supply of homemade liverwurst. A friend of his in upstate New York makes it and Vic brought in a tube(?) of it. What is the "unit" that liverwurst is sold in? Sleeve, tube, carton...? I don't know. Anyway, Vic brought it in with some crackers and Joe made a beeline to it. There wasn't much left by the time the party ended, so it was definitely a hit.

Before I go on, I had to figure out how liverwurst is sold. I mean, you say "block", "round", or "wedge" of cheese, or by the slice. I realize you could just indicate that you wanted, say, 8 oz. of liverwurst. But what was the actual package called? As always, Google is my friend. Apparently, it is called a "chub." So what Vic brought us was a chub of liverwurst. Now I went to the dictionary and discovered that a "chub" is also the "common name for Leuciscus cephalus, a thick-bodied European river fish with a gray-green back and white underparts, popular with anglers." Are you reading this, Scott R? The next time you're in Europe, make sure to fish for chubs.

We also had two new arrivals at the Hut today to enjoy the festivities, Alan & Daphne. They've been in before, but this is the first time they've stayed for awhile, at least on a Saturday. Wanting to give them a proper introduction here on the blog, I was careful to ask for the spelling of Alan's name, but I was remiss in asking how Daphne spelt her name, so I'm assuming it is "Daphne". I believe there are other ways to spell it, like "Daphnie", but hopefully I've gotten it correct. In any case, the name is an old one, originating in the Greek language and means "laurel tree". I knew it was of Greek origin, but had to look up the meaning. Sorry Alan, I have no idea where your name comes from or what it means! BTW, Alan and Daphne, I usually send out e-mail notices when the blog goes out so, if you want, send me your e-mail addresses and I'll add you to the mailing list. Hope to see you both again soon.

Ohioans were in abundance today at the Hut - Alan, Box Ed, and I are all from Cleveland, Lou is from Columbus, and I believe Joe was born in the Dayton area. Daphne, Vic, and Barry are all from New York. Peter, of course, is from Bahston, as in "pahk the cah in Hahvahd Yahd."

When we speak of who was here today, one immediately thinks of who wasn't here. Three notable absences include Steve B, Tom L, and Adrian R. Steve was probably busy with work or Miss December, Tom indicated earlier that he was busy with his son at a hockey tournament, but Adrian. Apparently Adrian has no problem showing up during the week, but when I am there on Saturdays, he's suddenly a no show. The last time we played chess, he beat me three games in a row, and I've been anxious for a rematch. I've said tongue-in-cheek lately that he's not been in attendance on Saturdays recently because he wants to hold onto his crown, but now I'm convinced of it. C'mon Adrian, where the hell are you?

Also hope to have seen Paul V today - he's always fun to talk to and is extremely knowledgeable on a myriad of subjects.

Scott R was absent but he's slowly making his way to upstate New York, so he gets a pass. I know he wanted to be here for the party and was hoping to master the "be in two places at once" trick but hasn't mastered it yet. Leave the magic to me, Scott!

Mike G actually made an appearance from Tennessee. Well, not an actual appearance, but one by phone. Knowing that Lou was giving away free cigars for the event, Mike called hoping that would be enough to score a free one or two, but no dice. Apparently Lou didn't even give him a raffle ticket for a chance to win a prize. Sorry, Mike, maybe if Lou has an extra hat he can mail it up to you. Good to talk to you, by the way.

The party started at 1:00, but Joe and I had the same idea and that was to arrive about an hour early to secure good seats. I got there about noon and Joe shortly thereafter. Darryl and Greg were already there so, in fact, we were just able to get our traditional seats. Thanks to Greg for letting the old man (Joe) have the comfy chair.

I gave out some more of Clipper Pens and hope to secure some orders for them. Kevin looked at it and said, "Oh, Scott (R) has pens with this logo on them". Great, no orders from Kevin now as he'll be buying from Scott - LOL!

I finished up Paula's website this past week for her new line of paper bead bracelets. Peter's wife Stacey likes the two she bought a lot and will be selling a few of them at a local restaurant they frequent. Take a look at the website and if you'd like a bracelet for your wife, mother, girlfriend, sister, aunt, grandmother, daughter, etc., let me know. They make great Mother's Day gifts too - start shopping now for next year!

As many of you know, Joe's son James K got married recently. They apparently had a lovely wedding on Davis Island (of course, we wouldn't know since none of us got invited for some reason) and their wedding was featured in the most recent issue of Tampa Bay Weddings Magazine. Shot by Ashley Brooke Photography, the magazine put a nice piece together about the event. Here's a link to Ashley's blog and the article on their wedding. Great article, and fantastic photography...my only fear now is that James's head will grow even bigger now that he's been featured in a magazine.

Alas, there were only two pipe smokers in the room, Box Ed and me. I was smoking some Tinder Box Reserve 1928 in the Cassano pipe I got in Boston a year ago and Ed was enjoying some of Lou's Baker Street in the meerschaum I gave him. Baker Street has it all, great taste if you're the smoker and a wonderful room note if you're nearby inhaling the light, slightly sweet aroma.

Congratulations to Preacher Jim who just purchased a 1978 Corvette. It sounds like it's quite the hot rod and hopefully he'll drive it to the Hut next time he comes up. Would love to see it. I might even pray that I get to drive it around the block!

Thanks to everyone who came out today. I think we all had a great time and thanks again to Lou and Darryl.

Cheers!

 - Bob

P.S. Joe took a couple pictures with his iPhone and was supposed to send them to me. As soon as he figures out how to send them, I'll post them here.

Saturday at the Hut - 6/4/11

A few of the regulars were missing today at The Tobacco Hut. Joe K told us in advance that he wasn't going to make it and Scott R is stomping around the bayous of Louisiana, taking the scenic route to New York. I don't know the whereabouts of anybody else, but Peter G showed up as promised. 


Peter was close to never showing up again as he had a harrowing car accident a couple days ago. He was on I-75 coming home from work on Thursday when someone cut him off, causing him to swerve off the road. After a couple barrel rolls, he ended up on his roof but - thank you Jesus!* - he was okay. Just a couple minor cuts on his arm. Glad he's still among us and not one of Tom Dobies' customers just yet. *The "thank you Jesus" line was for you, Joe!


Peter and I had a good conversation about marketing, advertising, and the wholesale food business. Peter's back in the industry that he knows inside and out and just a few weeks from being cut loose from the training program. As a former restaurant owner and food service account executive, Peter's knowledge of restaurant operations, marketing, and food service in general is impressive. More importantly, you can tell he's passionate about the business. 


Today found me smoking a David Jones rusticated Canadian. From the first light of the Tinder Box Reserve 1928 to finally dumping out the fine gray ash, it was an incredible smoke. I've raved about this tobacco before, but I continue to enjoy it. I was getting a little low on it, so recently purchased a replacement can from my former manager, Mike Spicer, at the Tinder Box in Dublin, Ohio. 


A few weeks ago I decided to start properly storing the half-opened tins of various tobaccos I had laying around. I went to Ace Hardware and purchased a dozen 4-oz. Mason jars. Once home, I carefully poured the contents of each tobacco tin into a jar. Some of the tobaccos were a little dry, so I filled a humistat with water and placed it in with the tobacco. Put the lids on and screwed them on tightly. I should have done this a long time ago, because all my tobaccos are now fresh and don't dry out as they did with just a plastic lid on the original tin.


Lou reports that several of his cigar vendors have supplied him with prizes to raffle off at the Father's Day celebration on Saturday, June 18th. The party starts at 1 PM and will feature food, beverage, and the aforementioned prizes. There will also be a wet t-shirt contest. Okay, I made that last part up. But mark the date and make sure to tell a friend. Hope to see lots of people there!

Paper Bead Bracelet
crafted by Paula
(Click to enlarge)

Time for a shameless plug...as many of you know, my wife Paula makes jewelry in her spare time. She has recently discovered a unique kind of bead, made of paper from recycled magazines by women in Uganda. The beads are imported by a company out of Colorado and made available to beaders throughout the U.S. Each bead is different and Paula has started making bracelets out of the beads. The women who make the beads have raised themselves out of abject poverty through the sale of their beads, and Paula has sold quite a few so far. They're only $5 apiece, and if you're interested in one, just let me know, and I can bring it next week to the Hut.


One more shameless plug, if you're a small business owner interested in maximizing your marketing efforts, surf on over to a blog I've started recently titled Bullseye Marketing Tips. Its mission is to provide marketing tips and strategies especially for small businesses. Take a look and let me know what you think!


Thank you!
 - Bob

Saturday at the Hut - 5/21/11

I spent my last moments before the Apocalypse enjoying a bowl of Tinder Box Reserve 1928 in a Peterson Kinsale at The Tobacco Hut with friends. Joe K, Jim C, Peter G, Steve B, Ed B, Lou, and I had a wide-ranging discussion while puffing away and watching the Lightning beat the Bruins to tie the series at 2-2.

I had actually asked Lou to polish up the stem of the Peterson last week and he did a great job on it so I lit it up anxiously on Saturday, eager to enjoy one of the best values in pipes. It had been a while since I'd smoked this particular Peterson and the Vulcanite stem had become rather oxidized. Oxidation occurs when the sulfur in the rubber stem rises to the surface, discoloring it and giving it an unpleasant, sour taste.

There are many prescribed methods to removing oxidation from Vulcanite stems, some involving bleach and other chemicals, but probably the easiest is with a buffing wheel and then applying a thin coat of Carnuba wax, which is what Lou did last week to the pipe. Unfortunately, there was apparently a lot of oxidation on the stem, because even though the stem was restored to its shiny black state, a few minutes of it in my mouth and it quickly reacted to the saliva and turned nasty.

I left the pipe with Lou for him to work on throughout the week, and hopefully he'll be able to remove the remaining oxidation and get the pipe back to its spiffy, like-new state.

It's this oxidation issue that has driven my recent pipe purchases. I now stick with almost exclusively Lucite stems which are, essentially, plastic, and don't suffer from oxidation problems.

A quick rundown of what's happening with Saturday's attendees: Steve B and Jim C had a good conversation about Steve's new burgeoning business ventures; Peter is steeped in training for his new job, eager to be cut loose amongst the Tarpon Springs restaurants; Joe wore his highly offensive "Pipe Down Now, Silly Liberal" shirt; and congratulations to Major Ed B!

Adrian had promised to show up on Saturday so we could resume our chess games, but I guess his new philosophy is "Quit While You're Ahead" as he was a no-show. I suppose he wanted to be reigning King of Chess when the world ended.

Speaking of which, since I'm writing this on Sunday, May 22nd, it's apparent that, in fact, Harold Camping and his band of idiots at Family Radio were quite wrong about the end of the world occurring on May 21st at 6 PM. It would have been more amusing if there weren't so many people who actually believed it and jettisoned all their belongings and money and now - with families to provide for - have nothing. I doubt seriously that Mr. Camping, et al, will support his followers now that some of them are destitute.

Preacher Jim C and I differ on a lot of things, but we were both in agreement that Saturday, May 21st would pass like any other.

Don't forget the Father's Day Celebration at the Hut on June 18th, from 1-4 PM. Show up for the food, beverages, prizes, and fun. I think Lou's going to rent a Karaoke machine too. Okay, I just made that up, but there will still be prizes, good food and beverages. See you there!

 - Bob

Saturday at the Hut - 5/7/11

Today at The Tobacco Hut was fun, but also touched with disappointment. Fun, because in attendance were Scott R and Steve B. Scott delivered some greenbacks to Lou for some of the lighters he's sold for Lou on eBay, which made Lou very happy. Scott, Lou, and I had a wide-ranging discussion covering topics like high school reunions (Scott made his position about whether I should attend my upcoming 30th very clear), pocket knives, the promotional product biz, eBay, and even religion.

I pontificated on how psychics prey on their victims and even performed a quick card trick for Scott, who was suitably impressed. Scott impressed me with some wizardry of the mathematical kind. I promised him I would send him a link to a fun online magic trick, but thought others might enjoy it as well, so here it is: http://www.flashlightcreative.net/swf/mindreader/

Steve B arrived later in the day after a 2-month hiatus. Always a pleasure to see Steve, especially after such a long absence. I don't know who has more ideas for business and making money, Scott or Steve. Steve's getting involved in the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) as a way of giving back and helping people become more self-sufficient, as well as strengthening their community. Looking forward to hearing of his progress on this front in the weeks and months to come.

What was a little disappointing was that Joe K was a no-show. We missed him last week because he was doing something with his son, James. The week before that was James's wedding. So we were expecting to see him today and when we didn't, I called him. A little while later he texted me to say that he was in Erie, PA (where the temperature was a perfect 58º). Doh! That's right, he told us he was going to Pennsylvania; we just couldn't remember when exactly. Hopefully he'll be back next week.

The disappointment was tempered when Adrian R came waltzing through the door. Well, I wouldn't say he exactly "waltzed", but he certainly made one of his grand entrances. I was excited to reclaim my chess crown and went for the chess board that Lou stores for me behind the counter, but my excitement was short-lived. Adrian announced that he was back to his old self and just breezing in and out to buy a cigar or two. Mrs. Adrian was waiting in the car and he couldn't stay. The last time Adrian's wife dropped him off, we forced her to come in so we could meet her. Strange...she didn't come in this time. Hopefully we haven't scared her off. Adrian promises to allow me the opportunity of playing another game of chess soon.

And yet another disappointment...Peter had promised last week that he would stop in today, but he was a no-show. I wanted to find out how his new job was going and also tell him that I finally took his recommendation for dinner. Last night Paula and I went to Mr. Souvlaki in Tarpon Springs and I had their signature Greek Chow Mein. Wow - what a meal! Paula had the souvlaki and she was equally impressed with her dish. We will definitely be going back. I had the full order and could only eat half; I had the remaining portion tonight for dinner. A thumbs-up recommendation from me! Thanks Peter!

A shout out to Scott and the creation of a CafePress store he just put up, featuring his most-excellent knife photography. Check it out at http://www.cafepress.com/steelbrother - perfect gear for the outdoor lover. BTW, another regular at the Hut, Paul V and Scott have another shop on CafePress featuring some cool cigar art: http://www.cafepress.com/cigarshirts

That's it for this week - hope to see lots of people next Saturday!

 - Bob

Saturday at the Hut - 3/19/11

Bob on the Left, Joe on the Right
(in more ways than one).
Click to enlarge.

As many of you know, Joe K and I are on opposite sides of the political spectrum. In point of fact, I think I'm on the opposite side of the spectrum from most of the regulars at The Tobacco Hut. But Joe and I have the most fun with our rivalry. It all started several months ago when I purchased an National Public Radio shirt and wore it proudly to the shop one Saturday. Joe countered with a shirt of his own several weeks later that said "Pipe Down You Silly Liberal". Actually, he wore a homemade shirt a little earlier, one that sported a circle with a line drawn through it over the initials "NPR". Well, I finally came up with a counter to his counter, and I wore it today. I forewarned Joe, so he made sure to wear his "Silly Liberal" shirt. Thanks to Adrian for taking this picture (with Joe's camera, and thanks to Joe for actually sending me the picture!) of the two of us. Your turn Joe!


Peter G was at the store when I arrived. It was great to see him, as it's been a few weeks. He spent a week sailing around the Caribbean on a Norwegian cruise a week ago. He confirmed what my wife and I suspected after our last cruise, that a balcony room is well worth the price. We had a window only and kind of wish we had sprung for the balcony. 


Barry C and his son Chris came in. I had never met Chris before and, other than some pretty towering height, he looks a lot like Barry (poor guy!). Apparently Barry's work schedule has changed, so hopefully we'll see more of him on Saturdays now. Barry didn't have a lot of time so he got a new cigar that Lou started carrying, the Ashton Half Corona. It smelled good and Barry reported that it was a nice smoke, so by the end of the day I bought a 5-pack of them. Looking forward to trying it.


Today I enjoyed a bowlful of Dunhill 965, a rich English blend characterized by Macedonian tobacco, Latakia, and Brown Cavendish. It was my go-to blend when I first began smoking an English and I actually found this tin this past week, shoved to the back of a closet. I had feared that it had been opened and was now completely dry, but it was still vacuum sealed and tasted wonderful in the Ascorti Peppino sandblast. 


Ed B pulled up in his uncovered Jeep, obviously enjoying the beautiful weather. Besides discussing the announced retirement of Ed's boss, Sheriff Bob White, a lot of the talk was about the NCAA March Madness tournament that was on TV. Fortunately Lou kept it tuned to that instead of the golf tournament that was being held down the street at Innisbrook. 


Adrian came in and I have to say I was looking forward to his arrival as much as I had been anxious to show Joe my new shirt. See, Adrian and I had a chess game to finish from last week. We had adjourned it and Lou graciously allowed us to - rent free - keep the chessboard set up in one of his display cases. Pleasantries were exchanged and we quickly set up the table and resumed the game. I was a little concerned at first because I had a gaping hole in my king's defenses, but I found that I was able to go a piece up and finally whittled my way down to a victory.


In that game, I was playing the white pieces and Adrian the black. And it just so happened that our respective pieces matched our own, ahem, skin color. As Adrian congratulated me on my victory, Joe commented that perhaps he should change his color to white for the next game. Adrian responded quickly by rubbing his arm and saying, "I don't think it's going to come off!" We all burst out laughing and I think "race relations" are just fine at the Hut!


That next game was a bit of a nail biter, but I eventually prevailed. And so we played another game. And again I prevailed. It was now 4:30 and Adrian was eager for a final rematch. I begged off at first, not wanting to have to adjourn a game like we did last week. He insisted, saying we could get in a quick match. I finally agreed and the game was afoot.


Adrian was playing white and opened with 1.e4 (advancing the king's pawn two squares). I responded with 1... e6, the French Defense. I made an early positional misstep, but thought I was doing pretty well because I was soon up by two pawns. We were moving along at a pretty good pace and I was soon bearing down on his castled king. What I neglected were his two rooks that he had along the e-file. I went in for the kill, aiming for a back rank mate, but out of seemingly nowhere, he advanced the first rook, checking my king. I had only one move available and with no hesitation Adrian advanced the second rook, bringing the sword of checkmate upon me. I was speechless and I'm sure my jaw dropped two inches. Adrian, having suffered through a number of straight losses, jumped up and let out a victorious howl. 


Slowly shaking my head, I extended my hand to congratulate my most formidable opponent. Well played, my friend, well played.


I can't wait 'til next week!


 - Bob

Saturday at the Hut - 3/12/11

I walked into The Tobacco Hut this afternoon eager to fire up a bowl of a tobacco that I haven't had in years, Dunhill's Early Morning Pipe. The Dunhill collection of tobaccos have been off the market for a number of years. From my understanding, it was a marketing decision by Dunhill to retreat from the U.S. market, while maintaining their brand presence overseas. Some pipe smokers have publicly announced a boycott when the Dunhill tobaccos returned in November of last years, but I was excited they were back. Dunhill has always produced a premium pipe tobacco and I couldn't wait to light up a pipe full of one of their blends.


I've tried many of the Dunhill blends over the years and settled on two favorites: Early Morning Pipe and My Mixture 965. The latter is one of the first English blends I tried while working for the Tinder Box over twenty years ago and it opened up a whole new world for me as a pipe smoker. The intricacies and nuances of a fine English blend of tobacco are sometimes an acquired taste but, once obtained, bring a new appreciation to pipe smoking.


Last week I ordered a tin of Early Morning Pipe from my old manager, Mike, at the Tinder Box in Dublin, Ohio and today was its inaugural smoke. Early Morning is a light tobacco, in taste and body, with sweet Oriental tobacco blended with Bright and Red Virginias and just a hint of Latakia. I haven't smoked EMP in probably eight years but the aroma and flavor came rushing back. The vessel I was enjoying it in was a Crown Viking pipe I had bought from Lou several years ago and the combination was a winner! The tobacco burned beautifully all the way to the bottom. When I was done I tapped the underside of the bowl a couple times and out came pure white ash. No dottle or unburned bits of tobacco. A perfect smoke!


Alas, there were no hard core pipe smokers in attendance today at the Hut with which to share my revelry. The smoking pleasure was mine alone. However, my arrival was greeted with the smiling faces of Vic and Joe, and Lou, of course. The two retirees compared notes but the talk soon turned to Apple's new iPad. One of the last times Vic was in the store, Joe showed him his and I think Vic has been keen to purchase one. We talked at length about the merits of the iPad 2 versus the original one and then suddenly the two aforementioned retirees were in the middle of negotiations. I wasn't sure who started it, but by the end hands were shaken and Joe's iPad became Vic's. No money or merchandise actually exchanged hands, but the official transfer will take place in two weeks. Harkening back to September of last year when Joe sold me his iMac, it was like deja vu all over again.


In addition to being anxious to light up some Early Morning, I was also eager to peruse the new freehand pipes I knew Lou had gotten in. He said he had ordered three Crown Viking pipes and after the initial pleasantries were exchanged, I quickly glanced over to the pipe showcase. I didn't really notice anything new and then Lou informed me that, in fact, he had received three Crowns during the week and almost immediately sold two of them. 


I was incredulous! It couldn't be! I had my heart set on buying a new pipe and I just couldn't believe that two of the three would have moved that quickly. The remaining Crown, although a beautiful specimen, wasn't exactly what I had in mind, so I will have to wait until Lou orders some more. It is my fervent belief that, because of the celerity that the first two sold, he will order replacements forthwith. 


Box Ed made a brief appearance. He was looking forward to settling in for a smoke, but got called to a job. Duty calls, I'm afraid, so hopefully he'll have time next week. And apparently we have to change his nom de guerre to Pouch Ed because he no longer transports his pipe and assorted accoutrements in a cigar box, but rather a newly purchased pipe pouch. I don't know...I kind of like Box Ed. Pouch Ed doesn't have the same ring.


I was kind of thinking that I would see Adrian when I arrived at the shop, considering that last week he didn't make it in time to do battle over the chessboard. He had pledged to come early today so we could play and I must say I was disappointed to not see him. Fearful that perhaps he had turned, well, "yellow" as it were, I was heartened to see him bustling in at around 3:30. His first words were, "Set up the board!" Yes - the game was afoot!

I quickly set up the pieces while my opponent selected a cigar and lit up. Adrian began with the white pieces and chose a king's pawn opening. We both moved deliberately and thoughtfully, and we soon progressed to the point where I was employing only my long-range weapons, the bishops, Adrian had only the short-range pieces, the knights, at his disposal. It was an interesting conflict and while I was preparing an attack on his queenside, he was coming dangerously close to mounting an attack on my own queenside. Unfortunately for Adrian, he wasn't able to get his knights in to position as I had at least one of them pinned, and I finally prevailed.


Barry made a surprise visit and sat down to enjoy a cigar. It was good to see Barry after an absence of several weeks (months?) and he provided rich commentary on our chess game. Don't be a stranger, Barry!


Adrian and I began another game with about a half hour left in the day and our initial moves were made rather quickly. I played as white and opened with a Queen's Gambit, which was immediately accepted. The benefit of a Queen's Gambit Accepted is that white, while down a pawn initially, has superior position in the middle, and I did enjoy that advantage for a time. However, I soon found myself with a gaping hole in my kingside defense, after castling kingside. We had to adjourn the game as it was closing time, so the board has been safely placed - intact - in an empty spot of the front showcase. Lou was very gracious to let us use the space and his gesture is most appreciated. The game will continue next Saturday.


Until then...
 - Bob