I visited my go-to pipe carver Jerry Perry at his annual stand at the North Carolina State Fair in
the Village of Yesteryear crafts pavilion yesterday. He had his beautiful array of multi-colored
pipes under some high intensity lamps to show off the merchandise and easily sold me a stout
Rhodesian pocket pipe in a carmel brown stain with an slightly bent amber stem, but only after
I had taken time to admire many of this year's creations -- an intriguing rectangular walnut wood
pipe, a briar bent billiard with the bowl entirely etched with geometric patterns, and many others.
As I was admiring the wares, a mother and daughter who was about ten approached the display
and feasted their eyes on the colorful briars, and then the little girl posed her question:
"What are they?" The mother explained they were pipes for smoking tobacco, but I still love the
wonder in the little girl's voice: "What are they?" The first thing Jerry asked me was, "Are you still
smoking, or have you quit?" So he gets that a lot.
the Village of Yesteryear crafts pavilion yesterday. He had his beautiful array of multi-colored
pipes under some high intensity lamps to show off the merchandise and easily sold me a stout
Rhodesian pocket pipe in a carmel brown stain with an slightly bent amber stem, but only after
I had taken time to admire many of this year's creations -- an intriguing rectangular walnut wood
pipe, a briar bent billiard with the bowl entirely etched with geometric patterns, and many others.
As I was admiring the wares, a mother and daughter who was about ten approached the display
and feasted their eyes on the colorful briars, and then the little girl posed her question:
"What are they?" The mother explained they were pipes for smoking tobacco, but I still love the
wonder in the little girl's voice: "What are they?" The first thing Jerry asked me was, "Are you still
smoking, or have you quit?" So he gets that a lot.
