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