My Fan Epiphany

With the Chicago Blackhawks winning the Western Conference and heading to the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals, it occurred to me that I support teams with Native American tie-ins. Not those with a racist or controversial name like the Redskins or have a demeaning logo like Chief Wahoo.

I have been a Blackhawks fan since the Chris Chelios days. The Blackhawks got their name from a World War I Infantry Division that in turn was named after a Sauk leader, Black Hawk, a prominent figure in Illinois history. We also have named military equipment with the same moniker.

I am also Kansas City Chiefs fan and have been since the early 80s. I like the smash mouth style of defense they have a tradition of playing, now if they could only develop some consistent offense. The Chiefs were named in honor of Harold Roe Bartle who brought the team from Dallas to KC. Bartel earned his nickname as founder of a Boy Scout Honor Society in which he was "Chief" Lone Bear. The word chief is a name of respect.

The last team is my beloved Mariners, I know what you are thinking...what does "Mariners" have to do with the indigenous people of the Americas... The Mariners play out of Seattle, a city named after Chief Seattle, a respected leader in the Duwamish tribe and started the ecological movement and respect of the land. The Mariners have never used to my knowledge anything to disrespect Native Americans. (BTW, I have been a Mariners fan since the Bosox blew it in '86 and Seattle drafted Junior.)

So there are my teams and their affiliation with the natives of this land.

Palindrome=emordnilap

It is frustrating that palindrome is not palindrome backwards.

Emordnilap is palindrome backwards.

Emordnilap is a word.

An emordnilap is any word that when spelled backwards, produces another word.

Examples

• desserts and stressed
• drawer and reward
• gateman and nametag
• time and emit
• laced and decal
• regal and lager

So emordnilap palindrome is an emordnilap palindrome.

A Vintage Smoke

Sometime last fall, the shop got a hold of some Old English Curve Cut Pipe Tobacco. There is an entire box of it, still wrapped in the original wax paper packaging. There were a half dozen more tins with the box. Not much was known of the find, age, if it was still smokeable, what its make up is...

This spring the Hartford Reading Society was established and I was looking for something interesting to bring to the table. I thought it would be interesting to bring a vintage pipe tobacco. (I was not the only one thinking this, but that is another story) Why not see if the find of Old English Curve Cut Pipe Tobacco was savable.

I nervously opened a tin, I noticed the 1926 (series 125) tax stamp adhered to the foil packaging inside. Quickly doing the math in my head, I got that the tobacco is around 89 years old or older, answering one of the questions. Next the prying and peeling of the foil off the plug cut, a very dry light brown tobacco was revealed. I touched the thin block of pressed leaves and they easily crumbled off the wad. It was very dry and I wondered if the blend could be reconditioned and smoked.

I got the plug collected into a small zip lock bag and shook it gentle, watching it erode into a rubbed state that is preferred for pipe smoking. Some spring water was used and spritzed into the bag in an attempt to revive the tobacco to a condition that is needed to smoke.

Reconditioned tobacco on the left, state of tobacco upon opening on the right.

After a few days of letting the leaves acclimatize to a proper humidity and let the tobacco breathe, it was time to try a small pinch. I packed about half a bowlful, struck a match and hoped for the best...it was a harsh smoke. At least it would be an interesting story to share, but I needed to know more about what I had, so I headed for the interwebz.

Old English Curve Cut Pipe Tobacco was produced by the American Tobacco Company and the blend was patented May 30th, 1899, along with the packaging. I found a few of people that were selling the tins on various auction sites and the tins were going for $20-40 a piece and the conditions were listed as good with some scratches and small dents. (There are 30 tins with tobacco in them that are in mint condition, what are those worth?) I also saw some old advertising of the pipe tobacco including an ad in the New London Day, it even had a picture of the CT State Capital in the corner.

(Sorry for the clipped version of the ad, it is from 1917 by the way) 

 

The night of the meeting arrived and I brought the tobacco to share with the other members of the society, it may not be a good smoke but it would generate conversations, besides who else is smoking an 89 year old pipe tobacco...I think that is a small number.

Well I guess the extra week of sitting had changed the tobacco, because it was a lot mellower and even enjoyable. So the question of whether it could be reconditioned and smoked is yes. It has a nice earthy taste, with hints of grasses and hays. It also has a blue tint to the smoke which is often associated with Cuban tobaccos, and this is pre-embargo. Dunhill used to add Havana leaf to their blends, so it is possible that this blend contains Cuban origin leaf.

So some of the questions were answered and another set has been established.

Early May Mutterings (Musing, Thoughts and Guffaws)

Don't really have enough for a dedicated post, so here are some random snippets...

• Watched an old man attempt to kill his wife at the grocery store today. It may have not been on purpose but it was a good attempt. He pulled the car around to pick her up at the entrance, as she was getting in, his foot may or may not have slipped off the brake, allowing for the car to move forward and spinning her out the door and onto the ground. She was not hurt and was able to get up and into the car. If I was him, I would cook my own meals for the next couple of days just for safeties sake.
• Patriot nation is all quiet right now. Starting to see a pattern at least with the team, cheat and win a title, happened earlier with Spygate and now with Deflatgate. Wonder what their next "bending" of the rules will be?
• I brewed a LARGE batch of beer earlier this week, first time I have ever done a pale wheat style and with very little hops. Did have fun adding honey, maple sap, and some grapefruit bitters. Will know in a couple of weeks how it is.
• The weather has suddenly gotten nice and is almost too warm, the extreme jumps leave no one prepared for the warmer days. So much for any spring-like days, we just go from winter to summer.

That is all...

College Hijinks at 50

I am always up for an adventure and sometimes the unexpected ones are the most memorable.

Since the start of, now 4 days ago, I have had about 10 hours of total sleep. The rest has been work and ok, an event with the chance to have some social time. So here is a short list of the antics that have played out...

• Thursday was a successful pipe sales event and a gathering of some great people that share a common interest. 
• Friday was a double work shift day, but if you like what you do, it ain't bad.
• Friday ended a little rough, not being able to get the numbers to balance and that adds stress that is not needed nor wanted. (I am not OCD with the exception of getting the books to balance. So this was a cause to come home and play the whole night out trying to figure where the issue was, not allowing me to sleep but a mere three hours.)
• Quick turn around and I am back at work, still could not find the discrepancy, but after some keen detective work the snafu was uncovered before lunch and the rest of the day was saved and the worries erased.
• Home for a few hours to watch the Derby (I had no idea about which horse to root for, but it looked like a good race) and try for a nap, but only got an hour before heading back to work; but not to work, but to socialize.
• Friend picks me up in his Jeep without the top and doors. Me, unprepared with only a light sweatshirt, no hat or gloves. It was 48 degrees, but going 60-65 mph makes the wind chill at around 35 and me not so warm.
  
• Arrive in time to see one of the lamest, over hyped, boring boxing matches of all time. This fight made some of Mike Tyson's 1st round knock outs better spend money. It was a love fest with Mayweather cuddling his way to a win. Fight of the century? Not in life time and I have lived a half century now.
• Thankfully it was spent with a great group of people....

Now this is where the hijinks start...we decided to park in a parking garage. We stayed and hung with my boss and had some fantastic laughs. It is great working with people that you can enjoy life with. Before we know it it is 3:30 AM. We lock up and head to the Jeep for another 40 minute popsicle toes (inside joke) ride home. Arrive at the garage and the elevator is shut off....make for the door of the stairs and it is locked....around the corner to the ramp into the structure and the gate is down and locked. Now what?

 A phone call and a regrouping back at the shop, and it looks like we are crashing in the lounge. Thankfully the leather couches are plush. Since we are not driving, lets finish the bottle and grab a nap. A quick three hour snooze....find someone to open the garage....and it is back the Iditarod-like ride home, it was 51 degrees, so the windchill must have been up to a balmy 38 degrees...

I hadn't done anything like this since my college days...keeping me young at heart I guess. Not sure the body agrees....