Saturday at the Hut - 7/14/12

We had a full house at The Tobacco Hut today, so let's jump right in with the roll call. In addition to Lou and myself, we had Joe K, Don W, Arnie, Vic and his cousin Russ, Bryan, and Aaron. The jokes were as thick as the smoke and we all got a lesson in grammar too. More on that later.

This will be Don's last Saturday for awhile as he begins training for his new job (congrats and good luck to Don). Fellow pilot Arnie was in town as well, so to celebrate he and Don both tried an Opus X for the first time. Vic and I and others warned them that it can be a strong smoke, but they both threw caution to the wind and lit up. Within about ten minutes Don had to let his go out as he was feeling a bit light-headed. He decided to smoke it at a much slower pace. Arnie was fine with it until the last third or so when little beads of sweat started to break out on his forehead. They both agreed that the Opus does not live up to its reputation as a top shelf cigar and that they would never smoke another. We did tell them that Tom L occasionally brings some aged Opus cigars that he's stored for the last dozen years or so and that they are completely different from a fresh, out-of-the-box specimen.

Russ T wins the award for traveling the farthest for a cigar. He's down visiting from Rochester, NY although he had some difficulties in departing from the airport a week ago. Russ was evidently under the impression that he could just arrive at the airport without a ticket or boarding pass and get right on the plane. The ticket agent had different ideas, so he had to delay his trip by a day. Seriously, Russ had purchased the ticket six weeks ago but when he got to the airport they had no record of him in their system. Russ, maybe you were supposed to fly out of Buffalo...

Readers of this space will recall the last blog posting from June 16 where Aaron recounted his romantic tale of him and his friend attending the critically acclaimed movie, "Brokeback Mountain" when it came out a few years ago. Speaking of "coming out", Aaron announced that he - no, no. I'm only kidding. Anyway, since there were some folks in attendance today that didn't hear the original story, we persuaded Aaron to give us his impressions of the movie, with full animation, of course. I passed around the Photoshop image I had prepared of Aaron living his dream of actually being in the movie, to everyone's enjoyment.

It was around that time that the typically sophisticated level of discourse took a downward turn. Russ ingratiated himself to us by telling some extremely distasteful jokes. I, for one, was deeply offended. Of course, you couldn't tell that because I was howling with laughter. There was one about three missionaries being faced with Yanye or Death, but since this blog's wide readership(!) reaches many women and children, I won't go into the full joke here.

So what's this about a grammar lesson? Oh yes, let me explain. One of the regulars at the Hut, Paul O (not to be confused with Scott R's brother-in-law, Paul V), had a very public hissy-fit on Facebook over a comment I left on one of his posts. Rather than explain it all, I submit the evidence from this past Monday and let my gentle readers come to their own conclusions:

Paul O wins the "I Can Dish It Out But Can't Take It" Award for 2012
(Click to enlarge)

Yes, you read that correctly, Mr. O gave me a thorough thrashing (and his wife even got in the act) over six words that I left for him. Not only did he "unfriend" me on Facebook (oh, the horrors), he even removed himself from The Tobacco Hutters. One can only hope that this means he has removed himself from the Tobacco Hut as well. I am quite sure that his "wit" will not be missed. Moving on...

Had a great day at the Hut with so many folks in attendance. 'Til next time!

Saturday at the Hut - 4/14/12

Okay, okay, I don't write a blog for a couple weeks and - in honor of Easter last weekend - I get crucified. Sorry, that was in bad taste. I'll try to resurrect my weekly blog postings. In my defense, I have been quite busy. We've had family visiting this week and have been getting the house ready for guests. In fact, last week I smoked the Cassini pipe I bought in Boston a couple years ago...in honor of Paula's brother and family visiting from Beantown.

Last week at The Tobacco Hut was too far back for me to remember everything, but Mike G made a surprise visit from Tennessee. We had a great visit with Mike, recalling a lot of good times at the Hut over the years. Oh yes, I found this photo of Mike on Facebook. Nothing more need be said.

Mike G bustin' out the moves
(Click to enlarge)

A couple pictures from last week...

Joe K and Mike G. Mike is most certainly spinning some tale.
(Click to enlarge)

Tom L and Peter G. Tom appears to be looking
lustily at Peter.
(Click to enlarge)

Me and my Fox Run Winery shirt from the Finger Lakes
area of New York. Joe thought I had converted to
Fox News. Sorry, buddy. It's all NPR for me.
(Click to enlarge)

Alright, today at the Hut found me walking in a little late after I had gotten in from Orlando this morning. We had gone over last night to hang out with my brother-in-law at Downtown Disney. I got to the shop around 12:30 and had to plant my sore butt on a broken folding chair. Paul O was in my usual seat, Don W was in one of the club chairs along with Jeff D. Well, let me explain that. Don and Jeff weren't sharing the chair, there are two of the white club chairs and they each were in one. Joe K brought his own folding chair and Scott R was in one of the store folding chairs. A little while later Paul V came in sat in one of the wooden stools. Later Scott switched places with me so I could have some place to put my pipe smoking accoutrements. Soon after Scott folded up the chair and came out with the cushioned stool from behind the counter. There. The seating arrangement has been fully explained and we can continue.

Probably the greatest entertainment of the day was watching Joe smoke cigar after cigar. Unlike the rest of us, Joe typically encounters difficulties whilst smoking his cigars. It doesn't matter which ones, they all seem to tunnel or canoe on him and it's been a pretty regular complaint that we hear from him week in, week out. Today was unprecedented however, as he went through not one, not two, but three cigars. And that third one started acting up as well, but I think Joe was at his credit card limit and couldn't buy a fourth. It was Joe's day in the barrel, so after he smoked most of his third cigar he packed up his folding chair and left.

Peter G came in and as soon as Don got up to check out, he sat down in Don's chair - the very one I had been wrangling for all afternoon. But, as Peter pointed out, they were his chairs to begin with so he gets first dibs on them. Fine.

Later, when Paul O got up to leave, he motioned to Scott to enjoy the chair by the window, which he promptly did. Thank you very much Paul and Scott. Only when Jeff finally left did I have a chance for a comfy chair.

Ed F stopped by for the first time in a long time. He's been busy hauling cars cross country. Scott perked up when he heard that most of Ed's trips take him to Buffalo and Rochester. Before I forget - Ed, this is for you - that forum I told you about where the truck drivin' pipe smoker posts is Smokers Forums. You might have to become a member to see the posts (it's free), but find the Off Topic Chat section and look for the thread titled "Where the Pipe Smolders II". It's written by Mason, the truck driver, and is pretty interesting.

Scott showed off his latest acquisition, a Case pocketknife. I really liked this one. It is a "canoe" shape because it, well, looks like a canoe. Maybe I'm drawn to pocketknives for the same reason I'm drawn to pipes - they each have names for the various shapes. Today I was smoking a freehand Crown Viking I bought from Lou several years ago and last week I was smoking a David Jones billiard. As I said, I really liked this particular knife and commented about it several times to Scott. Since he knew I liked it and he had stolen my chair when Paul got up to leave, I thought he might simply give me the knife, but he didn't.

Since Scott was there I had to bring up another puzzler for him. And, no, I didn't bring a deck of pre-arranged cards for him to shuffle and ruin the trick. This was a brain teaser and went like this...John and Marsha were teenagers in love and carved their initials five feet high on a tree twenty five years ago. They had gone there separate ways but reconnected today and thought it would be nice to find their initials. They located the tree and the question is, if the tree added 20% of its height every year for ten years, and 10% of its height every year for the next ten years and 5% of its height every year for the last five years, how high up the tree would their initials be?

Scott was wary of doing all the heavy lifting only to have someone else (Joe) shout out the answer at the end, so he pretty much kept quiet. Paul V, however, knew the correct answer - the initials would still be five feet up the tree. As a tree grows, its height is added to the top, not from the bottom. New growth always occurs from the top.

Happy Easter to Peter! He and Ed were talking about some sort of egg battle that their families engaged in every year. It sounded, well, odd. But I suppose my family's tradition of sacrificing a -- oh, never mind.

Saturday at the Hut - 3/17/12

Today at The Tobacco Hut saw me enjoying a bowlful of G.L. Pease's outstanding Chelsea Morning tobacco in the Stanwell that Paula surprised me with for Christmas. It smoked well all the way to the bottom of the bowl, providing a great taste and excellent room note. The rest of the gang was smoking cigars and there was a fair number of us so it was welcome relief when Lou decided to prop open the door to air it out a bit.

This is probably close to what
Jim's iPad looked like after
being run over.

In attendance today were Lou and myself, of course, Scott R, Jeff D, Paul O, Paul V and - toward the end of the day, Jim C. I'll open the blog with a tale that Jim recounted about his iPad. He received it as a gift from his wife but several days ago, whilst driving on US 19 near S.R. 52 with the windows open and the iPad on his dashboard, made a turn and promptly sent it flying out the window. Unfortunately, he didn't notice it until he got home and then retraced his path and discovered it in the middle of the road, having been run over multiple times. But, guess what? Apple replaced it! Jim is now a full believer in Apple. If it hadn't been replaced, I was going to suggest that he get in touch with Joe who is probably ready to sell his iPad 2 now that the latest version is on the market.

After Scott and Lou conducted a little business (the former had sold some of the latter's old lighters and other collectibles on eBay and was delivering the proceeds), Scott and I got down to our business. Specifically, the solution to the brain teaser I had posed in this space a couple weeks ago, regarding the 911 dispatcher's help to the man suffering from a heart attack. Probably the only people that cared were in attendance today, but I'll give the solution here in a moment. It actually didn't take Scott long, after a few carefully considered questions, to hit upon the answer. Although maybe it was a repeat from a couple weeks ago where Scott did all the "heavy lifting" and Paul O actually answered it...I can't remember. Okay, for those of you were wracking (or "racking", either is acceptable) your brain for the solution: The dispatcher had the man read off the license plate of the car parked in front of him, she ran the registration through the computer, and directed the ambulance to the address, saving the man's life.

A little later when Paul V arrived Scott had me pose the same question to him and, with some more heavy lifting from Scott, he worked out the solution.

We had some good sports discussions...who the Bucs had picked up and their prospects for the coming season, how the Rays were looking, the ongoing NCAA March Madness tournament, and the "good ole' days" of sports television when you basically had on option for watching sports - ABC's Wide World of Sports which showed the highlights from various games from the previous week. Now, as Scott pointed out, you can watch practically every game live, start to finish, but there still doesn't seem to be anything good on.

I was feeling lucky so I sprang another puzzler on Scott and the boys. I produced a deck of cards and asked Scott if he could cut the deck exactly in half. He didn't think so, but he actually did pretty well, cutting 28 cards. I then had him shuffle the two halves together and deal some piles of cards face down. There were several piles consisting of just two cards, a few piles of four cards and two piles of thirteen cards each. As he dealt each pile, I bet him what each pile would consist of: the pairs of cards would contain one red and one black card, the piles of four would consist of one card from each suit, and the two piles of thirteen cards would each contain ace through king. As the odds of each of these bets got longer and longer, Scott had no problem betting against me, especially since we were using "hypothetical" money, not the real thing. But, sure enough, after he had dealt through the deck, the cards were turned over and I was correct on each pile.

I emphasized that Scott had cut and shuffled the cards and done the dealing, so there could be no pre-arrangement or sleight of hand since he had shuffled and handled the cards. I've always enjoyed legerdemain, especially when it comes to playing cards. Next time, Scott, we'll see how well you do separating the reds from the blacks, sight unseen. And if you want to invite me to your next poker game...

Lou made a sad, but not entirely unexpected, announcement. The lease for the store is up at the end of April and he has decided that without a buyer, he will be forced to close the doors so he can devote more of his time and energy in taking care of Dotty. He would prefer to sell the store and keep it open - and has lowered his asking price considerably - but will have to close down if he is unable to sell it. Now is the time to spread the word if you know of anyone who would like to take over the shop. After almost 28 years it's an institution in Pasco County and I think we all share Lou's desire to see the store continue, even under different ownership.

 - Bob

Saturday at the Hut - 9/24/11

This week's gathering at The Tobacco Hut wasn't as wild and raucous as last week's - of course without Tom L and Adrian making wild and unfounded accusations of racism toward me like last week the discourse was more subdued. In attendance were Joe K, Bobby, Paul O, Lou, and myself.

It was good to see Joe again as it's been awhile since we've connected. I was gone on vacation for a couple weeks, then Lou closed the store while he was on vacation and last week Joe was MIA as he was suffering from swimmer's ear. He ended up going to an ENT doctor and undergoing some treatments that sounded less than pleasant but he's on the mend now. I don't know why he didn't just pour vodka in his ear like his son James did several years ago when he swam across a retention pond that probably measured well above safe levels for fecal material.

This makes two weeks in a row for Mike G's son-in-law Bobby and it's nice that someone's finally classing up the joint! Bobby has an interesting background, from living abroad in various exotic locales to his boat racing and his Puerto Rican heritage. In fact, he told a good self-depracating joke about his own ethnicity: Why aren't there any Puerto Ricans on Star Trek? Because they're not going to work in the future, either. It's probably better coming from Bobby himself than me since I'm not Puerto Rican. Me telling the joke just makes me sound racist. Damn, maybe Tom and Adrian were right!

Lou was complaining about the slowdown in his computer's speed lately and Joe and I were giving him some advice on what to do about it. Well, actually Joe was giving him practical advice and I was just advising him to get a Mac instead. Joe was estimating that Lou's computer was 4-5 years old and rather than installing Windows 7 on it to speed it up, the recommendation was to just buy a new computer. Rebuilt computers can be had for such an inexpensive price that at that age (the computer's age, not Lou's), it really makes sense to just replace it. Bobby agreed, having had good success with rebuilt devices.

By the way, thank you Joe for passing along the glowing recommendation from your friend who hasn't had any problems with their computer because (drumroll please)...it's a Mac.

It was also good to see Paul O as it's been several weeks since we've both been at the Hut at the same time. Paul's dry wit is always appreciated. He's built up quite a repertoire of jokes and one-liners about death - perfect for his line of work in funeral pre-planning.

Later in the afternoon, the talk turned to politics and included such topics as the influence of lobbyists, "Obamacare", and unions. It wasn't too divisive and I think everyone agreed that voter apathy is one of the biggest problems. I was proudly wearing my NPR shirt but was a little disappointed that Joe hadn't worn his "Pipe Down You Silly Liberal" t-shirt but he said he had to visit a customer about a computer before he came to the Hut, and didn't want to potentially upset a revenue source.

Saturday saw me smoking a bowl of G.L. Pease's Westminster tobacco in my Ser Jacopo sandblasted Canadian. Unfortunately, I had packed it a little too tight and had some trouble getting it going at first, but it soon loosened up and turned into a wonderful smoke. The sharp aroma from the Latakia was most enjoyable. Thank you in advance, Lou, for cleaning up my Corona Old Boy lighter as it's getting pretty gunked up with carbon and having difficulty lighting.

A reminder if I didn't include anyone in my change of address alert: I've switched from Verizon to Bright House as my provider so have changed e-mail addresses. My new e-mail addy is bob.harrison@tampabay.rr.com

I couldn't resist the allure of what the Bright House salesman when he came to my door. Well, let me correct that. I couldn't resist the allure of what he was selling. He actually looked a little like Mike G. In any case, we're now getting almost a hundred more HD channels for $25 less per month and the first month is free. Bright House is working hard to win back customers that they've lost over the last few years to Verizon and I'm obviously not loyal to any particular company. Except to you, Lou! In contrast to Paul who called himself a "cigar whore."

Everyone's favorite knife guy, Scott R, is on schedule to return to Tampa Bay in late October, so hopefully we'll see him in a month or so.

Speaking of missing regulars...where have some of you guys been? I'm thinking of Ed B and Darryl G. And Paul V - yes, you Paul, I'm talking to you! Box Ed, where have you been? Even Peter has turned irregular on us. Hey Vic, put your nuts down and make another trip up from Bradenton man! And I've all but given up on Barry. And there used to be this landscape guy who came in who always regaled us with his dating prowess. Steve was his name, I think. And Preacher Jim, how are you going to "save" me if you don't come in? Of course, I was gone for two weeks myself recently, so if you think it's hypocritical of me to call you guys out, come in and tell me! Seriously, would love to see some packed houses in the weeks to come!

'Til next time...

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 - 4/23/11

It's been a few weeks since I last posted to the blog and I apologize to my faithful readers (both of them). It's not that I haven't been to The Tobacco Hut, just that I haven't been motivated to write about it. But today was a fun day at the Hut, with a lot of folks in attendance, and wins by the Lightning and Rays.


Scott R and Paul V arrived and settled in with some nice selections from the humidor. Scott also returned my Barbie's. Now before the laughter begins, they're actually my wife's and I had given them to Scott a couple weeks ago to sell on eBay. He did some research and felt that we'd be better off selling them at a garage sale. Scott is an eBay expert and will take your stuff, research it, photograph it, and list it on eBay for you. And, he'll handle the payment and shipping. It's a 50/50 split, and Lou has already taken advantage of Scott's services. 


I always enjoy discussing politics, current events and history with Paul, but we didn't get a chance today. Truly a shame because, while we don't often agree on the issues, he's a fun debater and extremely knowledgeable.


Scott's main line of work is as a dealer for Kaeser & Blair, a promotional products company. He's been in the biz since 1997 and I've helped him out from time to time with graphics work for the last few years. Over the past twelve months though, I've been talking to him about getting into the selling end of it myself. Well, I finally did it. I signed up as a dealer myself and got loaded up with samples and catalogs. I've built a basic website to serve as a kind of online brochure and have some pens coming with my contact information.


Please check out the website and help me spread the word. If you know of anyone that needs some custom imprinted marketing materials or trade show giveaways, please send them my way. I'll leave a few pens at the Hut when they come in so feel free to grab one when you stop in.


One last commercial interruption and we'll get back to our regularly scheduled program...Scott has been feverishly writing a blog about pocket knives. Coincidentally, it's called pocketknivesblog.com and can be found here. I'm not even "into" pocket knives, and I enjoy reading his stuff. Great photography accompanies the descriptions of his latest acquisitions. Scott's passion for these knives really comes through in his writing and for a relatively new blog, he's getting some good traffic. I can think of more than a few readers of this blog who would enjoy Scott's, so I encourage you to take a look.


Today found me smoking the Cassano I bought in Boston a year ago, enjoying a bowlful of Greg Pease's Chelsea Morning. It's part of his Old London series of tobacco, and consists of sweet red and bright Virginias, some Orientals, a bit of Cyprian Latakia, and a touch of Perique. I typically like an English blend that's heavy with Latakia, but this tobacco is more restrained in its use of it. No matter, the combination of the other tobaccos give it some subtle fruitiness and a hint of woodsy, smokey flavor. A very fine tobacco indeed.


Joe K was not in attendance today as it was his son James' wedding. Congratulations to James! We were all afraid that James would end up with a lonely life, traveling to Mexico on semi-annual junkets to visit a certain cigar-smoking monkey. So glad he found his bride. Congratulations again James - enjoy your day!


Vic arrived and immediately recounted a very funny tale about his recent trip from New York to Florida. He stopped in Tennessee and visited Mike G and his wife, Diane. Let's just say that the headline to this blog should read, "Mountain Man Curtseys to Queen Diane". Apparently, while Vic was there, Mike had a bunion on his foot or some other malady and, puffing up his chest, attempted to show Vic who was "King of the Castle." He threw his leg over the back of the sofa where Diane was sitting and commanded that she massage his foot. "Only when you curtsey me," she retorted at once. The real joke was when Mike couldn't get his foot off the back of the couch. Apparently he was stuck. Too bad Vic didn't have his camera at the ready, 'cause that would have made for a great picture. 


Peter came in was greeted with a "Norm"-like cheer from everyone. Congratulations to Peter for his new position in food service sales. Best of luck to you, my friend! This guy's knowledge of all things sports continues to amaze me. I can't begin to recount all the facts and figures that Peter knows but, suffice to say, it always makes for a lively an fun discussion.


Vic has a new humidor to keep cigars in and the talk turned to how best to maintain the ideal temperature and humidity. For maximum freshness and longevity, a humidor should be kept at 70º F/70% humidity. Well, after a lot of discussion, the question came down to...does moisture affect temperature? Vic and Lou said that yes, higher humidity will cool down the temperature. I maintained that the two were independent. 


We tried an experiment (two, actually). We used a digital thermometer and took a reading of the air temperature inside the shop. It was 77º. We then placed the thermometer inside one of the reach-in humidors. After a few minutes, the temperature had dropped to 76º and then 75º. That seemed to indicate that Vic and Lou were - agh, it pains me to say this - correct. We then placed the thermometer inside one of the tabletop humidors along with a crystal- and gel-filled humidifiers and closed the lid. My instinct was telling me that the temperature inside the humidor would be the same as outside, i.e. 77º. Alas, it was also 75º after a few minutes.


So, in conclusion, I was wrong. 


I put that statement in a sentence all by itself because I know Lou loves it when I'm wrong about something. I turned to the Internet when I got home and did a little research. On a USA Today website, I found this explanation that confirms that Lou and Vic were right:

Relative humidity is a percentage that reflects how close the air is to saturation, where 100% relative humidity indicates fog or rain and single-digit relative humidity indicates extremely dry air. For a given amount of water vapor in the air, relative humidity will decrease as air temperature increases and increase as air temperature decreases.

Our experiment bore this out, although in reverse. In a container with increased humidity, the temperature did, in fact, decrease. 


Fine. So I didn't get this one right. Maybe next week we can discuss string theory, quantum physics, and whether we live in an expanding infinite universe or a quilted multiverse.


Box Ed (Pouch Ed) came in for the latter half of the afternoon, enjoying his meerschaum pipe with some of Lou's Keystone tobacco. I'm not an aromatic smoker and have never tried it, but it certainly has a nice room note. It was just a couple months ago that Ed came in with a big cast on his foot. That's all healed finally but now one of his fingers is all bandaged up. Take care of yourself, man! It's not a race to see how many limbs you can bang up! 


That's all for this week. 


Don't forget to call me for all your promotional product needs!


Cheers!
 - Bob

Saturday at the Hut - 2/12/11

We had more than a full house at The Tobacco Hut on Saturday; fortunately it was broken up into three shifts. I arrived early as I knew Scott and his entourage would be the first to punch the clock. I had told Scott earlier in the week that I would buy him a cigar for his birthday on his next visit to the Hut, and he didn't waste any time coming in for it. I tried to steer him towards one of Lou's house specials ($2.30) but to no avail. At least he didn't go crazy on me - he selected a nice mid-priced cigar. Happy Belated Birthday to a good friend and marketing guru!


Scott brought two brothers-in-law with him, Paul V and Jeff. Ed B also came, a little earlier than usual. Paul V is an old friend and familiar face at the Hut, and I think Jeff has been to a few events in the past. The word of the day became "pedestrian", not as a noun as in a person walking along the road, but as an adjective, meaning "lacking inspiration or excitement; dull." At this point, I can't even remember how the word came up. Paul was making some commentary about the subject at hand and used the word "pedestrian." Others questioned the usage and eventually pooh-poohed the word, but I flew to Paul's defense. It was a most apt and appropriate word and I salute Paul for his appreciation of the linguistic nuances for which the English language is known.


By the way, the word "pedestrian" comes from the Latin pedester which means "going on foot." However, if the suffix "ian" is added to it, its meaning becomes "written in prose" (straight expository writing as opposed to poetry). And in early English usage, prose was viewed as inferior to poetry. Etymologically, you can now see the link between "pedestrian" and "prose". You can also see that my English degree was not wasted, and that I have way too much time on my hands.


Switching to something that is far from pedestrian...Paul revealed an interesting discovery about Lou's Baker Street tobacco. He found that the combination of sipping a Lowland single malt scotch and enjoying a pipeful of Baker Street is a particularly exquisite marriage of flavors. I forget that Paul is also a pipe smoker; I usually only see him smoking cigars. Interesting discovery, Paul! I can see how the Baker Street with its Virginia tobacco and resulting hint of sweetness plus the Latakia would be complemented by a Lowland single malt. I'm not sure, but I believe such scotches are triple distilled, giving them a lighter taste.


As the first shift was packing up and cashing out, the second shift was arriving - Tom L, Joe K, and Peter G. There was a brief but rousing game of musical chairs and we settled into the afternoon's topics of conversation. Tom was well behaved and played nicely...there were only a few references to "Libbies", those of us who are more progressively minded and listen to NPR. Speaking of which, for the first time, I was wearing my NPR shirt and Joe was wearing his "Pipe Down You Silly Liberal" shirt. I'm still searching for the perfect response to Joe's choice of apparel.


The topic soon turned to the foreclosure crisis and we busily placed blame and solved the problems, all in a span of an hour or so. Tom has worked in banking, Peter had his own mortgage business, and Joe's wife was in the business as well, so it was interesting to hear three viewpoints on the housing collapse.

Neerup Sandblast
(Click to enlarge)

I was busy puffing on my Neerup sandblast, enjoying Baker Street of course, when the second shift punched out. The third shift soon arrived consisting of Ed F and Dan. Peter actually pulled a double shift and stayed over while Ed F and Dan settled in. Neerup pipes seem to be little known but are an outstanding value in pipe smoking. They are the creations of Peder Jeppesen, a Dane who worked for a long time at the Nording studio. He has been making pipes for over 25 years and his attention to detail really shows. He uses almost exclusively Corsican briar and black acrylic stems. I can't remember where I picked up this Neerup, but I'm quite sure it was only around $100 or so, a bargain considering how nicely it smokes. 


For those of you who remember "Box Tom", we now have "Box Ed", because like Tom, he now uses a box to transport his pipes, tobacco, and tools. Box Tom's container was an old shoe shine box converted to pipe usage, and Ed is now using an old cigar box courtesy of his friend Dan. Peter annointed Ed F as "Box Ed", which will be especially helpful so we don't confuse Ed B with Ed F.


Dan has made the plunge and bought himself a pipe. He loaded it up with some Baker Street and in no time was puffing away like a pro. Always nice to see someone new take up the briar. Welcome Dan! As your friend Ed now knows, an exciting journey has begun to unfold for you.


As the day wound down, there were four people smoking pipes. An older gentleman came in and picked up some tobacco and sat down and lit up. I'm embarrassed to report that I can't remember his name, but it was definitely a "small world" moment when we discovered that we are both part Seneca Indian. The amount of Iroquois blood running through my veins is far smaller than in his, but it was fascinating hearing him tell tales of growing up in upstate New York, areas I am intimately familiar with. Lou is more than casually familiar with it as well, as Dotty was born in the same area.


Finally, I delivered the Tinder Box Beefeater quarter bent pipe to Lou to clean up to give to aspiring pipe smoker Blake. Blake, when you're ready, the pipe is back to an almost-new state, thoroughly cleaned and sterilized and ready for your enjoyment. I also threw in an old Imco pipe lighter I had. Lou has everything ready and waiting for you!


Great to see everybody at the Hut and can't wait 'til next week. 


 - Bob

Saturday at the Hut - 8/7/10

I walked into The Tobacco Hut today and the first thing I saw was a gleaming white Dunhill My Mixture tobacco jar atop one of the humidors. An example of one of these highly collectible jars is shown at left. I wasn't sure where Lou got it, but I was hoping it was for sale, but alas it was for display only. Then Lou pointed out a half dozen Peterson System estate pipes for sale and a whole bunch of pipe racks and ashtrays. Lou hit the mother lode! Apparently he was approached by an agent of a pipe shop owner in Vermont who was closing his shop and he purchased a couple dozen estate pipes from him and a ton of pipe furniture.

He's in the process of cleaning up and sanitizing the pipes and has put some out for sale. Lou is only asking $45 apiece for them, which is an excellent bargain as new System pipes typically run anywhere from $95-110. Naturally, I selected one from the rack and was soon smoking it. Wow, what a cool dry smoke it is. The reservoir that traps the moisture in a System pipe really did its job and brought out the flavors of Lou's new tobacco blend very nicely.

Oh yes, I forgot to mention some more changes at the Hut. Lou has introduced a Virginia-based English blend of tobacco and he let me try a bowl of it in the Peterson. We talked about how the amount of Latakia in it should be tweaked ever so slightly and he has given me the honor of coming up with a name for his new blend. Since it's an English blend, he wants some sort of reference to the British Isles, and below is a list of possibilities for him, in alphabetical order, with the reasoning behind the names:

• Baker Street (Sherlock Holmes' address)
• Castledown (Castles are an obvious English feature)
• Celtic Dream (More Irish than English, but I like how the two words flow together)
• Falconer (Although originating in the Middle East, the sport of falconry was widely popular among the royalty throughout England's history)
• Foghorn (Maybe not British per se, but certainly nautical and England has a long maritime tradition)
• Mallory's Summit (Early Mt. Everest mountaineer George Mallory was an avid pipe smoker, and died on the north slope in 1924)
• Norman Conquest (Well, technically the Normans were from France when they invaded England in 1066, but it's a pivotal point in England's history)
• Parliament (The British governing body is an appropriate name I think)
• Sweedlepipe (A character from a Charles Dickens novel, Martin Chuzzlewit. I don't know if he smokes a pipe in the book, but I love the name)
• Wessex (Named for the Kingdom of Wessex in southern England, from ca. 600-1015 CE.)

Hopefully Lou likes one of these names and uses it for his new tobacco. Hope I helped Lou!

In attendance today were Joe K, Peter G, Steve B, and Darryl G. We were hoping to see Adrian but he must have spent the $12 that he lost last weekend and later recovered!

Lou was very gracious and at 1:00 changed the TV to the Rays-Blue Jays game. Unfortunately, the Rays took a beating, ultimately losing the game 17-11. Even with the loss, it was better than watching golf. Darryl might have disagreed with me, but I know Joe was on my side. Joe (and others) are anxiously awaiting football season, which starts in a couple weeks.

Click to enlarge

Last week I didn't get a chance to write the blog, but I have to make a remark or two about my choice of wardrobe then. I ordered a very special T-shirt for myself just for Joe's pleasure. I know how much Joe is a fan of National Public Radio, and I'm sure he donates a sizable amount of his discretionary income to the worthy cause, so I was quite puzzled when he wasn't enthusiastic about the shirt I wore just for him. In case you can't make out what the says, it reads: "NPR - Radio For Your World". Can't figure out why Joe didn't ask me to order him one after he saw it.

I think Scott R and Paul V will be at the Hut next Saturday, so I'm looking forward to seeing them. My son Ryan comes down for a two week visit next Monday, so we'll fit a Tobacco Hut visit in to the schedule, probably that first Saturday he's here, Aug. 21.

Cheers!

 - Bob

Saturday at the Hut - 5/8/10

I know, I know, it's been three months since I've made a blog posting. So sue me. Now that we've got that out of the way, let's recap what happened today at The Tobacco Hut. Who were the regulars in attendance and what fun banter was exchanged?

Here's the entire list of Saturday regulars and semi-regulars who were in attendance: Me. That's it. No Joe K, no Peter G, no Steve B, no Barry C, no Tom L, no Paul V, no Scott R (correction - according to Lou, Scott stopped by in the morning for a smoke but, alas, he had left before I arrived), no Ed B, no Vic (although I think he's gone back to New York so I guess he's off the hook), no James K (although I suppose living in Atlanta excuses him, but he could have at least made his usual harassing phone call), no Sue Ann, no Darryl G, and no Mike G (is it really *that* far from Tennessee to join us for a Saturday smoke once in awhile?)

Fortunately we had a steady stream of other customers, although no one stayed to enjoy their purchases. At 2 o'clock, Lou turned the TV to some golf tournament which was sheer torture for me. Unfortunately, without other folks to converse with, all my attention was reluctantly focused on the TV. I think I learned more about golf in those several hours than in the previous several decades.

I did, however, thoroughly enjoy my pipeful of Tinder Box Reserve 1928. It smoked beautifully all the way down to a fine ash in the Winslow Crown Viking I purchased from Lou a couple years ago. It's a wonderful, medium-sized freehand, partly rusticated. Lou has one remaining freehand that I might just have to buy - don't tell Paula.

In two weeks - May 22nd - Lou is hosting an Oliva tasting. Mark it on your calendars and all will be forgiven if you're able to make it. I also pledge to be better about writing the blog. Deal?

By the way, as many of you know, I design websites on the side. Here's my recently completed site for the company Peter G works for, Amen Air. Check it out!

Cheers!
 - Bob

Friday at the Hut - 7/3/09

Since The Tobacco Hut is closed on Saturday for the holiday, and many of us were off work today, we met a day early. The roll call included Bryan J, Joe K, Paul V, Joe D, Steve B, and myself. Lou was there of course, but not nearly as keyed up as he was last week for the anniversary party. We also had a special guest as Lou's daughter Diane surprised us with a visit and a special delivery: a Blizzard from Dairy Queen for herself and Lou. The joy and cheer we all felt when Diane walked in was dampened a little however when it became apparent that she didn't bring Blizzards for all of us.

For my second pipe in two months' time, I turned once again to the Tinder Box Reserve 1928, this time in a Bjarne billiard. It made for a fine smoke and burnt down almost completely.

Joe K reported a milestone in his little side computer business - assisting someone in setting up a new Mac. Joe is the proud owner of a 24" iMac, of which I am insanely jealous, and he successfully helped somebody with a new MacBook Pro get it all set up. Kudos to Joe!

It was good to see Paul again as he always has some interesting historical facts and trivia to discuss. He was at the Hut's party last week, but it was difficult to have a meaningful conversation with so many people in the store.

Paul was very thoughtful today by bringing Lou a Diet Mountain Dew - oops, sorry Lou, Brand X. Well, I called it thoughtful; Joe K called it stupid as Lou gave Paul the Look of Death.

It was a good thing I kept the leftover bag of chips in the car and didn't bring them in. I've flirted with death enough these last few weeks - I didn't want to risk it again at the hands of Lou.

Not much else to report this week. I do have to get busy with a request from Lou - he wants a link to this blog and the addition of the Smoke Stik brand of e-cigarettes he carries on his website. Can't keep the boss waiting...

Cheers!
- Bob

Saturday at the Hut - 6/27/09

We celebrated the 25th anniversary of The Tobacco Hut today in fine style! I'll try to list here everyone who attended, but I'll probably miss a few. Anyway, here goes: Lou & Dotty, of course; their lovely daughter Diane; their part-time-but-still-highly-valued-employees Joe K, Peter G, and me, your humble narrator; Scott R; Paul V; Trucking Broker Brian; Print Shop Brian; Major Brian; Ed B and his father in law Jim; Darryl; Barry C; Steve B; Joe D and his son Larry D; Tom L; Paul who didn't win a thing until Lou was almost out of door prizes; Undertaker Tom; Kevin who made Lou a table; Frank B; Irish Tenor Buddy; Hollywood(?); and probably half a dozen or so others whose names I didn't catch. Late in the day Mike G called in his congratulations from the mountains of Tennessee (I wonder, was he at the top of the telephone pole like Oliver Douglas in Green Acres making his call?).

There was food aplenty including pizza, wings, homemade pasta salad, a meat and cheese tray, chips, salsa and dip, and homemade cookies. According to Tom L there was also a carving station in the back with roast beef and ham, shrimp cocktail, and lobster tail on the grill. We found out later that the stuff in back was only for the special guests.

I committed the ultimate faux pas by bringing in the wrong type of chip. It's not that what I brought was a corn chip and Lou only likes flour chips, or they were the wrong color, or they tasted bad, or that Lou prefers the scoops. No, I brought in the wrong brand. Yes, I tried to be helpful and supply some food that would be appreciated, but I unwittingly picked up the incorrect brand of chip at the grocery store. It's my fault of course, because I've heard more than once about how Lou had some sort of legal battle with the company-that-shall-remain-nameless fifty years ago and now never buys any of their products. My bad that I didn't examine the fine print on the bag. I had poured about a dozen of the chips in the bowl when Lou discovered what brand I had supplied and he bolted out of his seat, picked up the bag and - I'm not making this up - threw them in the trash.

As tempted as I was to simply leave and go find another cigar and tobacco shop that was celebrating its 25th anniversary - hopefully one where the brand of chips doesn't matter - I took the high road and fished the bag of chips out of the trash and served them. So yes, everyone who ate the Brand X chips today was essentially eating garbage.

Drawings were held throughout the day and Lou obviously negotiated well with his vendors to supply some great prizes...shirts, hats, cigars, insulated bottles, lighters, ashtrays, playing cards and more were raffled off. There was so much horse trading going on between everyone that at times it seemed like a Chinese Christmas gift exchange, but I think everybody came away with at least one item.

Lou also had some excellent deals on cigars including Nestor Miranda 20 Anniversario Danno Cigar from Miami Cigars. The cigars were made in extremely limited quantities and shipped to only 100 select tobacconists. Lou received two boxes and made them available at a discounted price to those in attendance.

I lit a pipe for the first time in almost two months, since before my accident and surgery, and did it taste good! I smoked my favorite tobacco, Tinder Box Reserve 1928 in an Ascorti Pepino - always a great combination.

Everyone asked about my recovery and wished me well. Tom L felt so compassionate he offered to wait on me hand and foot, filling a plate with pizza and cookies and offering to rub my feet. I appreciated the food, but had to draw the line with the foot massage. Now if it had been Sue Ann offering...!

Joe K's son James was sorry he couldn't make the event. Apparently a 3000 mile journey for anything other than a party revolving around him is too much to ask, but he did convey a special greeting to Lou for the auspicious occasion. This being a family blog, his special greeting will not be repeated here.

Lou enjoyed a great turnout with probably thirty people in attendance at its peak, spilling out to the sidewalk in front of the store. Fortunately it was overcast and breezy, making both inside and out quite comfortable. Of course inside there was so much smoke it was hard to see the person beside you.

Congratulations to Lou & Dotty on 25 years in business - quite an achievement!

For the regular Saturday crowd, don't forget the Hut is closed next Saturday for the Fourth, so we'll meet on Friday the 3rd instead. I'll bring the chips!

Check out the pictures below - click each one to view at full size.

- Bob


Diane, Lou, and Dotty


Me, Peter, Joe (labor); Diane, Dotty, Lou (management)
Shameless plug: If you like the looks of that t-shirt your humble narrator is sporting, check out his designs at The Erudite Outlet - Smart gear for the smart set!


Lou and Diane with the table Kevin made (on left, in background)


From left to right in foreground: Scott, Kevin, Paul, Can't Remember.


Diane drawing a raffle ticket for a valuable prize.


Darryl and Jim


Joe D


Ed B, Joe D, Don't Know


Lou, Scott, Kevin, Paul V


Kevin, Paul V, Can't Remember, Tom L


See the chips and salsa in the uppermost corner of the table? Mmmm...


Lou on his way to rudely give back the chip I left for him at his seat.


It wouldn't be a party without Steve enjoying the wings!

Happy Birthday to Paul V

One of my political sparring partners at The Tobacco Hut is celebrating a birthday today. Paul V has the dubious honor of being born on April Fool's Day, but I shan't be making any comments tying his birthday to his political leanings.

I haven't seen him in a few weeks, but I hope this message finds him well and he makes his way into the Hut soon.

Cheers!
- Bob

P.S. Thank you to Scott R for informing me of this momentous occasion!

Saturday at the Hut - 3/14/09

Sorry for the late post on the Hut round-up. I was busy last night working on my website and today Paula and I headed over to Orlando to visit family visiting from up north. We arrived home tonight just in time to see the shuttle take off from the east coast - it was a perfect night for it and we had a great view of it. Even saw the solid rocket boosters fall away.

Anyway, Saturday was a fun one at The Tobacco Hut. I spoke with Vic T, aka "New York Vic", on the phone. I haven't seen him awhile, and he didn't make it in on Saturdays during his last visit, so I guess I'll have to wait 'til he moves down here permanently.

Most of the regulars were there - Joe K, Barry C, and Peter G. Steve B arrived straight from a golf tournament. Joe got a phone call from his son James who just wanted to make sure we were planning the big party for his arrival in May. Yeah, James, not to worry - got you covered! We're thinkin' a couple Snickers bars. Anyway, we gave him his usual Tobacco Hut greeting, not printable in a family forum.

Peter reported having a good Caribbean cruise last weekend with his family and Joe is planning an Alaskan cruise in the summer.

Joe and I gave a little recap of our experience at the Rocky Patel tasting at Blue Smoke a couple nights ago. We urged Lou to get the same type of cushy, leather furniture that they have. We also urged him to hire some of the same eye candy that they employ... ;-)

Other than a few jabs here and there, the political debate was kind of tame. Where's Paul V been? I miss my sparring partner!

Oh yeah, my bowlful of Tinder Box Reserve 1928 smoked as smooth as ever in my Cavicchi pipe. A customer did come in smoking a nice looking GBD with an amber-colored stem. Most of the Hut customers are cigar smokers so I always take notice of a fellow pipe smoker.

That's it for this week - until next Saturday...

Cheers!
- Bob

Saturday at the Hut - 2/28/09

We had another great gathering at The Tobacco Hut today. In attendance today were Lou (of course), Joe K, Peter G, Barry C, Paul V, and myself as well as friends we haven't seen in awhile like Scott R and Darryl G.

Cigars were fired up and the discussion turned to, well, proctology. Okay, enough said.

Lou did want to clarify that he now is a firm believer that his mobile phone is a cell phone and not a satellite phone. Just had to get that out of the way.

While I enjoyed my David Jones rough finish billiard with a bowl of Tinder Box Reserve 1928, Scott R and I talked a little about how to avoid tongue bite when smoking a pipe - it's all in the packing and "sipping" the smoke from the pipe. If it's smoked fast, it builds up heat and moisture which causes the stinging sensation on the tongue. I also gave Scott a sample of the Reserve 1928, which is a delightfully mild aromatic tobacco with a nice room note. Good luck with it Scott!

While Scott was still there we also talked a little about trap shooting, where he and Paul had just come from. I'm admittedly a newbie when it comes to guns, but one of these days I'll take them up on their invitation to go out to the Silver Dollar Gun Club in Odessa and try my hand at it. I am pretty good at the Wii version!

The afternoon wouldn't be complete without the Peter/Barry sports rivalry emerging. Paul joined the fray as well with his disdain for "America's Team", the Dallas Cowboys, of which Barry is a fan in the truest sense of the word (fan being short for fanatic). As Peter pointed out, it is puzzling why Barry wasn't a fan of the Jets, Giants, or Bills since he was born and raised in upstate New York. But Barry's loyalty to his team doesn't waver, nor does Peter's for his beloved Patriots and Red Sox.

Paul and I got into a spirited yet friendly political debate. He and I are probably at completely opposite ends of the political spectrum. Paul is close to become a libertarian, and I'm more of an NPR-loving, tree-hugging, godless Commie liberal. Paul does make some interesting points, especially about the Federal Reserve its history. He recommended a book which I've forgotten the title to, but maybe he'll leave a comment on the blog with the title, as it sounds like a fascinating read.

The beauty of the Hut is that it brings people together with a common interest, and as Lou likes to say we sit around solving the world's problems and maybe create a few more along the way. But I wouldn't have it any other way.

I'm certainly not looking to convert people to my way of thinking, but I wouldn't mind if more people took up the pipe!

Based on a comment left on the last posting, it looks like Joe's son James K will be coming into town. Hopefully he'll make at least a brief stop at the Hut so we can tell him what we really think of him!

Until next time - cheers!

- Bob

P.S. Comments are now available. Operator error (that would be me) was responsible for only allowing comments from people who had established accounts. Now they're available to anyone - just click on Anonymous in the profile list.

Saturday at the Hut - 2/21/09

Wow! Today saw a lot of people at The Tobacco Hut, a lot of cigars being enjoyed, and a lot of passionate debate. I was the first to arrive and I began my afternoon by loading up an Ascorti I haven't smoked in a while with some G.L. Pease Maltese Falcon, a deliciously smooth English blend, rich in Latakia.

Joe arrived soon after and I am pleased to report that he is loving his iMac. Although I'm secretly wishing he'll hate it and just want to give it to me, but I think like most users he'll become a permanent member of the Mac family.

Lou did admit to me that I was right about the satellite/cell phone controversy from last week. I know it killed him to do it, and I'm still not a hundred percent sure he believes it, but it was fun to debate the issue.

Ed B. arrived but only had time to drink a soda or two. In discussing a recent raid at a local crack house where the suspect opened fire on deputies, who immediately returned fire, killing the suspect, Ed introduced us to a technical police term: DRT. The newspaper had reported that the suspected was transported to the hospital and was pronounced dead at the emergency room, but Ed had the inside track and said the suspect was actually DRT - "Dead Right There", meaning essentially dead where he dropped. Gotta love the gallows humor of law enforcement!

Peter arrived and before long Barry showed up. Peter was eager to ask Barry about A-Rod's admission of juicing earlier in his career, and an animated discussion broke out about which team's roster, the Red Sox or Yankees, contained more players who used steroids. I don't think the argument was truly settled, but it was certainly a lively debate.

Joe didn't really participate as he's not much of a baseball follower, but I know he enjoyed the show. Joe is a passionate follower of politics and current events, and it didn't take long for him to take a few friendly jabs at the token liberal in the room - me, your humble narrator.

Paul came in and grabbed a chair and a cigar and jumped into the fray, but not before he and I talked a little about the online cigar discussion board he and Scott (who hasn't been seen in a few weeks, but is excused since he usually works on Saturdays) introduced me to, Cigar Asylum. It's a lively forum that I just joined and am looking forward to participating more in.

Steve arrived a short time later and the discussion soon turned toward the events of the day, including unemployment, the state of the economy, global warming, overpopulation, energy resources, etc. Paul, Peter, Steve, Barry, Lou, and I all had an engaging discussion on the issues, each firmly entrenched in our respective camps. Of course, your humble narrator did find himself fending off some verbal blows from around the room.

I look forward to recovering quickly from my wounds (maybe through the use of steroids) and returning next week for another round.

Cheers!
- Bob

Saturday at the Hut - 1/31/09

We had a great crowd at the Tobacco Hut today. Joe and I were the first to arrive, but instead of launching immediately into talking about computers, we talked about - um, I can't lie. Actually we did in fact begin talking immediately about computers.

I've been trying to get Joe to see the light and come over to the Mac side of things, and he's been talking the last few months about maybe picking up a used one to tinker with. He said he was in Best Buy the other day and sat down at the 24" iMac and now has his sights set on it, the very computer I've been drooling over for the last year or so. If Joe pulls the trigger on it, I'll be more than a little jealous, but he said I could come over and play with it.

I filled up one of my Winslow-Crown Viking freehands with some Tinder Box Reserve 1928. The tobacco has just the right amount of casings without being overly sugary, has a great taste and equally nice room note. It smokes great in the Winslow, although it was just a little wet toward the end, but nothing a few pipe cleaners couldn't remedy. The pipe has a good sized bowl, so without too much nursing, the pipe lasted most of the afternoon.

Peter arrived and I showed him the logos I had worked up for his new business. We discussed some more ideas, and he gave me some talking points about the venture to work into some promotional materials I'll be working on.

Everyone had kind words to say about the shop's website, although Lou himself hadn't seen it yet. He saw a couple pages of it on Joe's iPod Touch, but will look at it further from home.

Barry came in after getting off work, and we decided he's the new Mike G. Although no one can truly replace Mike, who still makes an appearance once in awhile when he visits from Tennessee, Barry comes close. Barry was quick to point out that political views between the two of them are 180-degrees apart. Point taken.

And then, mid-afternoon, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, a regular from days gone by arrived. Tom L walked through the door, greeting everyone with a carefully crafted sarcastic comment. Good to have Tom back! I'll chalk it up to coincidence that Joe left immediately after Tom arrived (kidding, he had already cashed out and was on his way).

Paul V arrived and I was again successful at persuading him to stay to consume one of his purchases. Paul also has a t-shirt shop online, Cigar Shirts and Stuff, using the same print-on-demand vendor I use for mine. Focusing on cigar-related shirts, he's got some great merchandise on sale there, and a lot of cool vintage cigar label reproductions. Click the above link or see the link list on the side to view his shop.

The smoke was thick as the sun was getting low, meaning the store was closing soon. Too bad as we were having a good discussion about a wide range of topics, including some politics, the financial bailout, and even stem cell research.

A big thank you to Lou for building me a pipe board. As seen usually in smoke shops, it consists of a board with rubber pipe clips placed in rows and columns, this one enough to hold 20 pipes. As my pipe collection grows, I've run out of room to store and display them on the bookshelves in the office (man cave), so have to use the walls. This will give me room to add more pipes to the collection!

Cheers!
- Bob

Saturday at the Hut - 1/17/09

Well. Today was a strange day at the Tobacco Hut, as evidenced by the picture that accompanies this post. What does the "Lollipop Guild" have to do with enjoying a good pipe and cigar? Nothing, until I walked into the Hut this afternoon. See, I'm used to showing up around 12:30 or so every Saturday, opening the door and seeing Lou in his throne - I mean chair - with a cigar firmly clenched between his teeth, smoke streaming from the foot, filling the room with the aroma of a quality cigar.

But today I walked in and Lou had some strange white stick hanging out of his mouth. I did the proverbial double-take and, with shaky hand, pointed to it and asked, "What the heck is that?" Lou proceeded to take a lollipop out of his mouth and said, "It's See's Candy, what else?"

Now I've been coming into the Tobacco Hut for about twelve years, and I've never seen anything but a good old fashioned cigar, or the occasional pipe, hanging out of Lou's mouth. Was Lou giving them up for Lent? Was it even Lent? Did he lose a bet? Where was the real Lou? Lou explained that his wife and daughter had gone to the mall and brought him back some See's, that was all.

Well I didn't like it, so as soon as he was done with it, he lit up a Padron 1964, the old Lou was back, and all was right with the universe again.

Joe and Peter were there today, each enjoying a cigar, and Paul V came in later. Sue Ann arrived later in the afternoon and I proudly showed her my new Cavicchi pipe (see earlier posts).

I smoked a bowl of Tinder Box Reserve 1928 in it and it was as good as the first pipeful I smoked a couple weeks ago, reducing the tobacco to a fine gray ash and requiring few relights. I continue to be impressed by this pipe and how, like any good pipe, it doesn't interfere with the taste of the tobacco at all. It just gets out of the way and lets me enjoy the full bowl of tobacco, absorbing the moisture and heat very nicely.

Not sure what I'll be smoking next week, but I might go to one of my favorite straight pipes, a David Jones billiard.

Cheers!
- Bob

Saturday at the Hut - 1/3/09

This was my first visit to The Tobacco Hut in two weeks as I took a Saturday off to visit with my son who was visiting from Ohio. It was good to see the gang again and catch up on the holiday happenings with everyone.

I brought in my new Cavicchi sandblasted volcano that Paula surprised me with on Christmas morning (pictured in an earlier post). This was its inaugural smoke and it delivered! I've heard nothing but good things about how this pipe smokes and I wasn't disappointed. And, thanks to Joe K., I tried a new tobacco. Joe traveled to Austin, Texas to visit family for the holidays and picked up a couple nice English blends for me at Heroes & Legacies, a local cigar and pipe shop.

I smoked the Blenheim blend and I'm not sure if this is the store's name for their own mix, or if it's the Cornell & Diehl blend by the same name. I've not had C&D's Blenheim, so can't be sure, but from the description on their website, it seems at first blush like it could be their tobacco. In any case, it's a delightful tobacco, light on the Latakia, and maybe just a hint of an aromatic, which leads me to believe that it could be from C&D, since their website indicates that they've added a bit of anise to the mixture. In some ways, it reminds me of Dunhill's Early Morning Pipe, light enough for the first pipe of the day, or an all-day smoke. The Cavicchi handled it well, and I smoked it down to nothing but ash. A big thank you to Joe for introducing me to this wonderful blend.

It looks like I may be covering the store for Lou & Dottie later this month or next as they're planning a weekend getaway. Always a treat for me, especially if I can introduce pipe smoking to a newcomer. My other "co-workers" were in attendance today, as mentioned Joe K. and Peter G. It was great seeing Peter as it's been a few weeks since we've both been in at the same time.

Paul V. came in and picked up another box full of cigars that customers had donated to the troops. I think this makes three good-sized boxes that he's shipped overseas now, and I know they're appreciated.

That's it for this week - be back with another report next Saturday.

Cheers!
- Bob