First Timer

[jamist]

Not me, let me hasten to add.

My (adult) son went with me to Paul's Pipe shop in Flint, MI about a month ago, and was seduced by two pipes he just had to have. I'd told him before that picking out a pipe at a pipe shop isn't so much you picking the pipe, as it is the pipe picking you - but that's another discussion.

Anyway, he finally decided to give it a try tonight. I walked him through the process of packing, lighting and tamping. It was fun to see him experience the things every new pipe smoker does - can't keep it lit, why do people do this anyway, I'm NOT exhaling through the bowl, bowl is really hot, this really doesn't taste very good, my tongue is numb, etc.

But then it started to click, and he started paying more attention to the conversation than to the pipe, and (to both our surprises), smoked it dead to the bottom of the bowl.

Not sure if there will be a round two - but it was a pleasant way to kill an hour. There are worse things for fathers and sons to do together, I'm thinking.

Jim D.

 

[Brewdude]

Great story, and a fine way for a father and son to share the pipe and bonding experience.

My late Pap gave up the pipe before I started back in the late 90's. What I wouldn't give to have him mentored me back then before he passed.


Cheers,

RR

 

[Trifecta13]

I enjoyed this quite a bit. As the father of a young son and the son of an aging father, this one really touches home. Some years ago, my grandfather passed away after living with Alzheimer's. I went through his old and meticulously labeled family albums and digitized them so they could easily be shared with the family. Much to my surprise, I found a photo of him walking out of his office in Leicester, smoking a pipe. This seemingly meaningless connection still stays with me and I often think of how much I would like to share an evening with him like the one you spent with your son. Whether this is merely the first of many episodes, or a once Ina lifetime experience, it will be one that stays with you both for many years to come. Best to you both.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Cool.

Closest I got was a young dude in my Tinder Box brought in a P.O.S. Chinese pipe with the screw-in metal bowl...he hated it. Horrible device. He had one smoke in it with terrible tobacco, brought in the pipe because he had no idea what he was doing wrong. Eventually, after some help from me (the staff was busy with cigar folks), he agreed to throw out the crappy pipe and dispose of the flavored horse-sh*t "tobacco," invested a whole $8 in a cob, a few ounces of decent tobacco to try that I suggested, and as he lit up, HE lit up...like a Christmas tree:

"This...THIS...is AWESOME!"

He was a natural. Only the second bowl he'd ever smoked in his life, the Chinese pipe a distant memory, and was fascinated by it all. The nicotine, the packing, the tamping, watching us closely to figure it out...he was made to smoke a pipe. Not once did he care about how many times he lit it, how he "looked" (didn't care about the "image" thing), and was all grins. He's going back to the shop to buy more pipes soon, I can tell.

:mrgreen:

Hope you and your son get many years of enjoyment with your pipes together! Good stuff, right there.

 

[Buckshot]

Great story...but how could anyone go into Paul's Pipe Shop and be seduced by only two pipes? I go in there and it is mass seduction! :lol:

 

[jamist]

Great story...but how could anyone go into Paul's Pipe Shop and be seduced by only two pipes? I go in there and it is mass seduction! :lol:

Thanks to everyone for the great responses. Time will tell - this morning there was some grumping about how his mouth tasted, and how his hair smelled.

Buckshot - man, do I ever know what you mean. Dan showed me his newly acquired stock of Christiano's (he has a LOT of Christiano's), and I managed to force myself to limit myself to one. (Of course, a nice Nording made its way into my purchases, too.) He has some huge Christiano's - some of the biggest pipes I've ever seen - and the briar and workmanship are spectacular. So are the prices - way outside my comfort zone for the big ones, but seriously underpriced for what they are.

A trip to Paul's is fraught with peril for me - I have the excuse of running up there to restock my tobacco jar with Arrowhead - but my fiscal stability is always at risk.

I was fortunate enough to visit several years ago when Paul was still regularly in the shop. One time, he took me upstairs and gave me a tour of his museum. What a collection - and what an amazing life that man has had.

Did you see he just turned 100 this year? Still chugging along. He's showing his age a bit - but hey, the guy's 100 years old. He's entitled.

Blessings,

Jim D.

 

[Buckshot]

Great story...but how could anyone go into Paul's Pipe Shop and be seduced by only two pipes? I go in there and it is mass seduction! :lol:

Thanks to everyone for the great responses. Time will tell - this morning there was some grumping about how his mouth tasted, and how his hair smelled.

Buckshot - man, do I ever know what you mean. Dan showed me his newly acquired stock of Christiano's (he has a LOT of Christiano's), and I managed to force myself to limit myself to one. (Of course, a nice Nording made its way into my purchases, too.) He has some huge Christiano's - some of the biggest pipes I've ever seen - and the briar and workmanship are spectacular. So are the prices - way outside my comfort zone for the big ones, but seriously underpriced for what they are.

A trip to Paul's is fraught with peril for me - I have the excuse of running up there to restock my tobacco jar with Arrowhead - but my fiscal stability is always at risk.

I was fortunate enough to visit several years ago when Paul was still regularly in the shop. One time, he took me upstairs and gave me a tour of his museum. What a collection - and what an amazing life that man has had.

Did you see he just turned 100 this year? Still chugging along. He's showing his age a bit - but hey, the guy's 100 years old. He's entitled.

Blessings,

Jim D.

Here are 2 links you will find interesting if you haven't already seen them:

http://www.paulspipeshop.com/

http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/flint/index.ssf/2013/01/paul_spaniola_owner_of_downtow.html

I live too dangerously close to Paul's. It's only about a 20 minute drive, so I only take the amount of money with me that I know I can comfortably spend. I've been going to Paul's since the mid 70's and feel very fortunate to have a shop like that so close. I also used to like the Churchill's in Birmingham, but I haven't been there since they moved the whole operation to the cigar bistro.

 

[jamist]

[/quote]I live too dangerously close to Paul's. It's only about a 20 minute drive, so I only take the amount of money with me that I know I can comfortably spend. I've been going to Paul's since the mid 70's and feel very fortunate to have a shop like that so close. I also used to like the Churchill's in Birmingham, but I haven't been there since they moved the whole operation to the cigar bistro.[/quote]

I can see how living that close could be a good news/bad news thing. I'm about 40 minutes south on I75, so it's just far enough away that I have to think about it first.

I just picked up a Cayuga too - haven't gotten around to smoking it yet. I see you have a couple - what do you think about them?

JD

 

[Rob_In_MO]

Internet usage tip of the day:

DO NOT type 'First Timer' into your favorite search engine if you're using Firefox without the SafeSearch feature enabled.


:lol!:

 

[kaiser83]

Sounds like you had an awesome time sharing your love of the pipe brother, congrats and I hope it happens even more for you and him.

 

[Buckshot]

I just picked up a Cayuga too - haven't gotten around to smoking it yet. I see you have a couple - what do you think about them?

JD

I have several Cayugas, including a large freehand, and they are among my favorite smokers. All are excellent pipes and good bargains, too.