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Post by puffy on Apr 1, 2017 22:42:38 GMT -5
I started to learn to smoke a pipe in 1971..A long time ago..There were no pipe forums,no YouTube,and very few books that I knew of..When some one asks me why I smoke a pipe I just say that I enjoy it.That might not be the case though if it were not for a young fella who worked in a smoke shop.For three years I would go in about once a month and ask him a bunch of questions about pipes and tobacco and how to put them together for a good smoke.He taught me about different brands of pipes as well as tobacco.Things were more simple back in those days.Now days folks are bombarded with who knows how many different designer high dollar pipes and expensive luxury tobacco blends.Just to give an example.I used to use Falcon pipes for my work pipes.I bought them at a smoke shop in a Sears store.They cost between 6 and 12 dollars.I lost track of Chris many years ago.Where ever he is I hope he's doing well.I will always remember him and his kindness.He's an example of how I've tried tried to treat other folks as I've traveled down this bumpy road of life.
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Post by herbinedave on Apr 1, 2017 23:14:24 GMT -5
21 years old and straight out of the Army, I went to PSU in State College, PA. BTW this was in 1987. You just told my story!
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Post by bonanzadriver on Apr 3, 2017 14:59:30 GMT -5
Great thread. For me it was General Jim. A retired Marine General that took me under his wing and welcomed me into his family and the church they attended, back in 1982, while I was stationed in Pensacola FL. General Jim had lived an extraordinary life, and for whatever reason, saw it fit to mentor me and introduce me to some of the finer things in life. I smoked my first cigar, an Arturo Fuente, while carrying his clubs one Sunday after church. I didn't golf at the time, but welcomed any opportunity to spend time with the General and hear of his WWII & Korean War days. The General was a big fan of Cuban cigars as well as Arturo Fuente's. I also had my first glass of Single Malt Scotch that afternoon, Glenrothes, on his back porch, overlooking his 38' Cheoy Lee Sloop. It was later that year, I was invited out for a weekend of sailing on his sloop, another first for me, that the General introduced me to pipe smoking. We had finished sailing for the day and had anchored for the night. He came topside with three different Dr. Grabow's in his hand. Asked me which one I would like to try. I chose a Smooth Bent Bulldog. Still one of my favorite shapes to this day. Jim had a few different pouches of tobacco with him and instructed me to smell them all and pick one out. I think one of me was Captain Black, Borkum Riff Bourbon and I think the other was Carter Hall, but I'm not certain. I ended up picking the Borkum Riff. I pretty much stayed with that blend over the next 3 decades, only smoking a pipe occasionally, 2 to 3 times a year. I found cigars easier to manage and transport. I hate to admit it, but somewhere along the way I lost my Bent Bulldog. As I've stated in other posts, for whatever reason, about 6 months ago I got the hankerin to get back into pipes. Gotta tell ya, I don't know what took me so long. I love everything about em. I love buyin, restorin, and smokin em. As well as the great variety of tobacco blends available. In a way I wish I had been able to take advantage of what we have nowadays, the internet forums and online retailers. I probably would have been an avid piper much earlier. All in all, those were some of the best and formative years of my adult life. Not to mention the introduction to things that I thoroughly enjoy to this day, golfin, sailin, cigar & pipe smokin and Scotch drinkin.  |
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