Dinner with Larry.....

[Bruce]

.......Roush. I was in Toledo this week for a conference. I remembered that Larry lived near Toledo so I took a longshot....gave him a call to see if we could hook up.

He calls me back and said, I'll pick you up at your hotel at Five. Went out to dinner, had great Indian cuisine and great conversation over dinner. After dinner, we head over to a cool little B&M....nice cozy place with friendly guest and employees. Larry is a Three Nuns freak so I gift him bags of TR from 3 different decades.
We both fire up our Roush's, and just hung out and shot the $hit for a few hours. He gifts me one of his extremely cool Sterling silver tampers in a cool leather pouch. I try it out and not only is it light weight, but extremely effective. The tamper is angled so that it fits perfectly against the wall of the pipe and catches all the tobacco and brings it towards the middle of the bowl. He then pulls out a tin of my favorite tobaccos...Sullivan's Gentlemans Mixture from the mid 80's. This is a great VA/Oriental blend that is long gone and very hard to find. He gifts that to me also.

Very cool guy....easy to talk to and to hang with. I learned a lot listening to him talk about pipes, pipemakers, and tobaccos. When I buy a pipe, I like to think I am buying a little part of the pipemaker. Now with Larry's pipes, smoking them will always be a bit more special, as it was a complete pleasure to spend an evening with him!

[IHT]

terrific story, bruce.
part of the down to earth nature of pipesmokers.

[JacksonCognac]

very cool! Thanks for sharing.

[EvanS]

This type of experience is a special treat for any enthusiast. I'm glad you had the chance to meet. It's encounters like this that will remain a lifelong memory. Thanks for sharing this with us.

[Bruce]

Originally Posted by IHT

terrific story, bruce.
part of the down to earth nature of pipesmokers.

For the most part this is true. Over the past year I have met many pipemakers, some of the "Great Danes", well known German and Austrian makers, and many American makers. Most were very friendly and warm. Peter Heeschen is a great guy....genuine and warm. Some of the big names were a bit standoffish, but I can understand this as I would imagine they are "targeted" by people with limited common sense.
The guy who really surprised me was Reiner Barbi. I thought he was a bit pompous watching him at a show, but turns out I was wrong.....a really nice guy who spent an hour with me just shooting the breeze.

But, there is one well know American maker that I will NEVER buy one of his pipes, and he is highly regarded. An arrogant ass that thinks he's the best thing since sliced bread.

I guess this is why I enjoyed Larry's company so much. Just a down to earth guy who enjoys the same pleasures of the pipe that we do.

[kvm]

Sounds like a great evening. Definitely one for the memory books.

[icehog3]

Similar to a cigar lover sitting down for dinner and a smoke with Carlos Fuente or Don Pepin...very cool, Bruce, I am sure his pipes will be all the more special to you now.

[Quick_nick]

sounds like a chill guy, his pipes look really nice but way out of my price range.

[dogsplayinpoker]

Its nice to hear that you had a great time with a down to Earth guy. He is an artist and excellent craftsman. Now you have me wondering who your "bad carver" is. Serving a niche market that is quite familial at times, you would think pipe makers would cater to buyers. On two occasions I have had poor experiences with makers. I inquired about price at one ass' table and he saw I was smoking a Savinelli. "If THAT is your kind of pipe, then mine aren't for you". Seriously! Makes me miss Bjarne all the more.
Sorry Bruce, got OT. Glad to hear Roush is one of the good ones as well as a wunderkind of pipes!

[physiognomy]

Thanks for sharing your experience Bruce! Sounds like a great time with a truly nice guy...

[hollywood]

Thanks for sharing this with us, Bruce. Sounds like an excellent evening.

[ultramag]

Nice story Bruce, thanks for relaying your experience to us.