I spent last night parked at a truck stop in Mt Vernon, Missouri. After eating dinner I stuck a couple of pipes and a pouch of tobacco in my little backpack and walked the half block to the local tavern to relax a bit before bed.
As it was very windy, with a bit of rain blowing in it, I opted for a cigarette for the walk and was just finishing it when I walked in. I found myself a seat at the bar, snubbed out the cigarette, and ordered a beer.
I noticed the older bearded fellow sitting to my right was smoking a pipe. He was dressed pretty much like a biker. I immediately inquired as to what he was smoking. He replied "Captain Black".
I sniffed the air again, looked at him, and said "That doesn't smell quite like Captain Black to me".
He smiled and handed me his old, well worn leather pouch. I opened it, looked at the tobacco, and took a good sniff. It sort of smelled like CBW but not exactly, and that is what I told him. He remarked that I had a good nose and told me it was actually Captain Black White, mixed with Gold, a "pinch of vanilla blend" and he then soaked the whole thing in Captain Morgan. Wow.
He had two pipes in front of him and both were obviously well used and somewhat abused as both had seriously burnt rims. I realized that one was actually a meer, but I had never seen one smoked so much the bowl was black.
A couple of minutes later another older bearded fellow sat down to my left and fired up a bowl of Half & Half. This was the point I couldn't stand it any longer and reached into my pack.
I pulled out a Stanwell and the pouch. It had been getting dark when I left the truck and while I thought I had grabbed the pouch of Bishop's Move I had actually grabbed the Irish Aromatic instead. I like IA but it goes much better with coffee than beer. What the heck, ya go with what ya have so I packed a bowl.
There we were, three bearded fellows all sitting at the bar puffing our pipes. We talked and joked for a couple of hours, each of them introducing themselves to me and visa versa.
As I was leaving each fellow wanted to shake my hand and to find out when I might be stopping back in. One fellow showed me a glass with the tavern logo on it. It read: "Come in a stranger and leave a friend". Seemed appropriate to me as felt I may have made a couple of friends there.
I have already marked that place in my GPS under the heading "Good Stops".
As it was very windy, with a bit of rain blowing in it, I opted for a cigarette for the walk and was just finishing it when I walked in. I found myself a seat at the bar, snubbed out the cigarette, and ordered a beer.
I noticed the older bearded fellow sitting to my right was smoking a pipe. He was dressed pretty much like a biker. I immediately inquired as to what he was smoking. He replied "Captain Black".
I sniffed the air again, looked at him, and said "That doesn't smell quite like Captain Black to me".
He smiled and handed me his old, well worn leather pouch. I opened it, looked at the tobacco, and took a good sniff. It sort of smelled like CBW but not exactly, and that is what I told him. He remarked that I had a good nose and told me it was actually Captain Black White, mixed with Gold, a "pinch of vanilla blend" and he then soaked the whole thing in Captain Morgan. Wow.
He had two pipes in front of him and both were obviously well used and somewhat abused as both had seriously burnt rims. I realized that one was actually a meer, but I had never seen one smoked so much the bowl was black.
A couple of minutes later another older bearded fellow sat down to my left and fired up a bowl of Half & Half. This was the point I couldn't stand it any longer and reached into my pack.
I pulled out a Stanwell and the pouch. It had been getting dark when I left the truck and while I thought I had grabbed the pouch of Bishop's Move I had actually grabbed the Irish Aromatic instead. I like IA but it goes much better with coffee than beer. What the heck, ya go with what ya have so I packed a bowl.
There we were, three bearded fellows all sitting at the bar puffing our pipes. We talked and joked for a couple of hours, each of them introducing themselves to me and visa versa.
As I was leaving each fellow wanted to shake my hand and to find out when I might be stopping back in. One fellow showed me a glass with the tavern logo on it. It read: "Come in a stranger and leave a friend". Seemed appropriate to me as felt I may have made a couple of friends there.
I have already marked that place in my GPS under the heading "Good Stops".