Encounter With A Pipester

Brothers of Briar

Help Support Brothers of Briar:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Trout Bum

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 11, 2008
Messages
1,104
Reaction score
0
So, there I was, walking my dog after a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends. It was snowing softly, as it had been all day. Winter wonderland in a post turkey haze...

I was walking up the street, shuffling quietly through a foot of fresh snow, and there, right in front of me, was the most astounding site: a lone figure, under a pine tree, puffing on a churchwarden! This was akin to a ufo sighting for me. Let me put this in perspective: I live in a fairly large city, and there is not ONE real B&M, which leads me to believe there probably isn't one in the whole state. There are a few "smoke shops" that specialize in stogies, but try to find a single tin of anything and you will be thwarted, believe me I have tried. There are your typical bulk aromatic blends, but I could not even find quality blends like Stokkebye's Luxury Navy Flake to be had. As for pipes, well, there are a few cobs, and, if you're lucky, a basket of over priced no-names behind the counter. Seeing a guy with a pipe, let alone a churchwarden, was a true shocker of the highest order.

Turns out the guy is smoking Arcadia in an HCA he's had for 12 years! And he's my neighbor! We chatted about pipes and tobaccos for a while; no shocker here: he was a consummate gentlemen, and a pleasure to speak with. A serendipitous meeting, to be sure.

We parted ways (he almost seemed more interested in my black lab, Kona, than me, which actually is a good sign and the mark of any self respecting pipe man) and agreed to get together some time for a leisurely smoke.

I told him about the BoB, of which he was unawares. He sounded like he might check it out, might not. Very cool, somewhat aloof, a hipster to be certain.

In closing, I would like to state that I left the scene, Kona prancing and pouncing through the drifts, with a rather warm feeling and a slight grin on my face.
 
Wonderful story TB.. You had me there with you guys.. A calming story and hope things pick up some day for all pipe smokers who live in your area and need a place to purchase good blends.. We are getting are first deep freeze and some snow on the way.. Time to bundle up for the outside smoking journeys.. Have a great weekend...
:cheers: :cheers: :cheers:
 
nicely written, tb. now i would have thought alaska would be full of pipe smokers, the winters being so long and monotonous. i have a book of photographs of different salons in the late 1800's (whenever photography was invented). there are several from alaska, and you can pick out quite a few pipe smokers. sad that the art form has dwindled to where an encounter with one is serendipitous, not common.
 
Trout Bum":0gu18qwv said:
We parted ways (he almost seemed more interested in my black lab, Kona, than me, which actually is a good sign and the mark of any self respecting pipe man) and agreed to get together some time for a leisurely smoke.
Great story ... love the mental picture of the lone figure with the churchwarden... but the comment about the dog makes the tale (or is that tail) for me!

Happy Puffing...
 
Thanks for the positive feedback, gents. A guy has to do something at four in the morning...

Regarding Bruins' comment... well, there are probably a fair amount of them, pipe smokers, that is, but I just don't get out much. I do not drink or go to bars (any more...), and in today's world, with all the anti smoking legislation, the only way for me to run into a chap with a pipe is going to be the arbitrary encounter here and there. There are a number of places in town to get bulk/house blends, so I know there is a demand. What defies explanation is the lack of tin availability.

Perhaps your average Alaskan piper views tinned tobaccos as hoity toity and overly expensive. If that were the case, I would not be in the least bit surprised, as Alaska in general tends to kind of scoff at any type of perceived pretentiousness. It's pretty much de rigueur around here to see a lawyer sporting Carharrts and a ball cap. The guy in line in front of you for an espresso, the one wearing Extra Tuffs and driving a 20 year old pick up with the bumper attached via bailing wire, is just as likely to be a a doctor or a judge as anything else. Alaska can confound one at times, as it really still has a frontier mentality and feel, even here in Anchorage. It has only been a state since 1959, which many people forget. Alaska has no infrastructure! Alaska is way the frick up there and out there! We have virtually no roads, no law school, no med school. When I was a kid, fresh veggies and fruits were a rarity, and anything on TV was literally two weeks old and had to be flown in. And I'm only 41.

More often than not, however, it's a pretty interesting and entertaining place to live. Alaska is just plain WILD. The average conversation between a couple of Alaskans often raises eyebrows from Outsiders. It's just tougher here. And so are the people and some of the attitudes.

You don't just up and traipse off into the woods around here, la-tee-da style, like you can Outside. That can get you killed. I lived in Colorado for several years, and by comparison, though stunningly beautiful in it's own right, always kind of seemed Disney-landish by comparison. In that outdoor pursuits seemed so much... easier by comparison. And sunny and warm. And no bugs or bears or wolfs or capricious moose. Well, I guess they had bears, but only kinda by comparison. Plus, all the mountains and rivers had names.

Quick note: "Outside" is Alaskanese for anywhere outside the state. Example: "I spent several weeks Outside last summer." Obviously, then, anyone not from Alaska, by default, is an "Outsider." That's how big it is; it is hard to get out of here, ie it takes time and money. So we have terms like this to generalize things. When I Lived in Colorado I always marvelled that you could drive to another state. For the weekend. And come back a different way than you came.

Outside is always capitalized.

Standing stab at Texas: If you split Alaska in half, Texas would only be the third biggest state. (!)

But I digress, as per usual. All of that to try to explain why a guy can't find a quality tobacco shop in the state of Alaska. Maybe it's because this freaking place is more backwards ass than the hill-billiest holler in West Virgina.


At any rate, thanks for letting me share. Maybe some time I'll post my thoughts on Sarah Palin. Or maybe not. I too, can be an aloof hipster... at least in my own mind.

TB over and out!

 
Good stuff, TB! And if Colorado is like Disneyland, then Los Angeles is definitely a zoo, (and not a clean one).
 
Top