Anniversaries

The heat wave broke last week; at one point, the “feels like” temperature was 107 degrees--somewhat uncomfortable, even to summer die-hards.

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When I was a kid, my parents’ house did not have air conditioning. My room, on the second floor, was a literal hot mess on scorching days. I would eventually get some sleep, with the help of several whirring fans; and in case I got thirsty in the night, my father always left a Dixie cup of cranberry juice on the hall table. He did this every night, no matter the season.

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My father, R.H. Rentner, smoked cigarettes most of his life--Kents was the brand. My mother, Mary Rentner, did not smoke, and never hassled my dad about it. They were a team, and supported and loved each other.

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My father smoked many cigarettes when he told me that I was adopted. Looking back on that conversation, I hope that smoking gave him some level of comfort during that horrifically uncomfortable conversation. I will always remember the blue cigarette smoke coming from the end of his cigarette as he told me the truth. The truth, in fact, was that they were my “real” parents, and always had been; I started to realize that biology meant nothing compared to love.

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Home from college for the summer in the early 1990s, I smoked pipes and cigars in the backyard of their house. My parents were a little surprised to find out that I smoked, and of course I didn’t smoke inside, but there was little criticism from them. I was an adult, after all.

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In later life, my dad gave up Kents. I was working in a tobacco shop by that time, and tried to ease the agony of quitting by bringing home some non-tobacco Ginseng cigarettes. They did seem to help. He said nothing negative about my working in a smoke shop; it was my job, and he supported what I was doing.

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My mom passed away in 2001, and my dad died about 18 months later. They were married to each other for 58 years.

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I still work in a smoke shop. In recent years, I have dipped into Twitter (and Facebook, a different story) and talked with people all over the world. My parents never went online, and never used a computer. Yet, if they were still around, I would try to sit down with them and my iPhone, bring up Twitter, and point out some of my close Followers. “Look!” I’d tell my folks. “In a way, I know these people. I feel closer to some of them than people I know in real life. And folks, I also got the courage to start blogging again, thanks to their friendship.” And they would shake their heads in wonderment, not really understanding, but grateful their son was helped.

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So we wrap up July, and summer heads to a long close during August. We go on, we tweet, we blog. We remember.

Thanks, R.H. and Mary, my real and only parents.

Thanks for giving me my start, and for teaching me.

Thank you.

Happy Anniversary.

R.H. and Mary Rentner, July 31, 1997

Briar and Beyond: Freak Show Pipes

Above picture from kristenpipe.com

Pipes have almost as much variety as pipe tobaccos. Briar, the king of pipe materials, is carved and processed into many unique shapes in addition to the standards of Bulldog, Apple, and so on. Some of the more obscure shapes are Oompaul, Skater and Olipahnt--the last shape being a pipe that has its bowl jutting straight off the shank, instead of the usual upwards-pointing bowl. Yes, it’s a challenge to smoke. There was even a pipe introduced about ten years ago that was as flat as a tongue depressor--the bowl was just a dimple in the wood, and specially-made discs of flattened tobacco (thoughtfully, from the same manufacturer) fit in that area.

Beyond briar is the reliable tier of meerschaum, corn cobs, clay and occasionally, cherry wood. But some pipe manufacturers have, over the history of pipe smoking, made their products out of truly different materials.

Kirsten pipes (cross-section pic at head of this post) have stems and shanks made completely out of, er, metal. This is called the “radiator stem.” The reason? Kirsten pipes feature interchangeability of pipe bowls--any of their bowls will fit on any of their radiator stems. So, you can buy just a bowl and screw it onto your existing pipe--almost a new pipe, presto, without the expense. As a rule, metal is a no-no in pipes, but Kirsten fans treasure the variety this brand offers.

Picture above from legiopraetoria.it

Ah, but you want to try a pipe that is truly out of the ordinary. Then check out the pipes offered (at one time, now on eBay) by the Bartlett Pipe Company (pictured above)  .Bartlett pipes, such as the New Englander and Windjammer, are made of rock maple instead of briar. Oh, and they smoke upside-down--you light and, apparently, smoke the pipe with its bowl pointed at the floor. The system to do this is complicated, but it allegedly works. This company, now apparently defunct, first offered this peculiar style of pipe in what was called the Freedom Smoking Pipe.

Oh, so that’s not unique enough, huh? Wood is old hat and you want something truly different, huh? Aight, then search for the pipe (yes, all lowercase) on eBay. This brand of pipe lined its bowls with a substance called pyrolytic graphite, used originally in aerospace applications. The material created, the company claimed, a lessening of tars and nicotine in this pipe. For an abundance of info about the pipe, visit thepipe.info.  There, author Billie W. Taylor II (PhD.) has put together the definitive source for learning about this product. The company that made the pipe is long gone, though, so like the above Bartlett pipes, eBay and pipe shows are the best places to look for the pipe.

No matter the material you choose for your pipes, be sure to enjoy. Briar is still the reigning champ of pipes, but variety is welcome, in pipe smoking as in life.