Creepy Pipe Kid

[sw0snuff3r]

I did something similar, at a similar age. I grew up in a very small town and every morning I would be tasked with going to the post office to pick up the mail. Every time I went there were old gentlemen sitting on the bench having a cigarette and we would always shoot the breeze (well as much as elderly gentlemen would want to talk to a young kid). I thought it was so neat that after awhile I would make my own cigarettes out of paper and would sit with them and "smoke" my paper cigarettes by just ripping off the end of it every now and then. I had a great time but I must have creeped them out a bit, and eventually I did not have to pick up the mail.
I wonder if this kid is having problems fitting in with his peers and just relates better to an older crowd and is looking for something in common. He'll probably grow out of it like I did.

 

[escioe]

I think it's pretty poor form for grown men to be name calling a 10 year old kid.
Yes, it's a strange fixation, but you were right: you should have said 'unusual,' which no one would argue with you about, and which also doesn't denigrate a child with a mental issue the way that 'creepy' does.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Good insight, but I got the feeling that his dad brought him to us, because he didn't have anyone else to talk with. Mainly because his dad showed no interest, and I think the smoke was bothering him. Non smokers tend to like the smell of a pipe shop at first, and then after a while you can see their eyes start to bleed with irritation.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Your right Escioe, as usual you've set me straight on my sensitivity. I was just using my own meter for language, the "do unto others as I don't mind them doing to me." Although, I don't mind being called creepy... yaddi yaddi... Thanks!

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Thanks, and if you ever want more candy...

 

[longbowman]

Who can say what's what? I met this kid who knew more about the 101st Airborne than I did---and I served in the 101st. But then, what can be said about the Puking Buzzard that hasn't been said before? But this kid knew it all. I had to admire the kid. He remembered everything about them.

 

[lonestar]

If the kid does have an autism spectrum issue it is something you can't control. If he went for pipes, that's what he went for. It's actually good his father is helping him. Still, awkward probably doesn't come close to describing the interaction. Good on you for engaging in his conversation, it is actually very good for him to socialize on his level about something that interests him.

I COULDN'T have said it better myself

I think it's pretty poor form for grown men to be name calling a 10 year old kid.

I also agree with this statement.

Kid you are alright with me, as long what you do doesn't harm yourself or others. Be yourself and if that is not good enough for others that is not your fault but theirs.

 

[cmdrmcbragg]

Aspergers most likely. Nothing else would reasonably explain why a 10 y/o would be able to regurgitate a ton of info (as you said that sounded just like our discussions here) without having that focused fixation that you get with aspergers syndrome.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

When I was a creepy kid, my thing was rocks. My dad was a jeweler, so we had tons of books on gemology and rock hunting. I had a rock polisher and I could name every form of Jasper in my collection. Now, I have rocks everywhere, ha ha. I have slabs, chunks, piled up waiting to be cut, in my room, my livingroom, my head, ha ha.
When I was thinking of an adjective to use, I knew that "creepy" was going to ire some rises. But, I've learned a long time ago to just be myself and let the words fall where they may. Hopefully in my full story, you'd see that I wasn't trying to hurt anybody's feelings. I use the words that I know. If someone wants to nit pick out every nuance of offences, then I'll own it. I liked the kid. It was like watching a talking chicken, you just don't expect it. And, hopefully people can see beyond the marks that represent words into the meanings of what they say.
Plus, if I flush out the ten-year-olds in the forum, I'll know who the non-smoker is giving pipe advice, ha ha.

 

[dread]

@cosmicfolklore ... well since you said you don't mind let me just say that your creepy. :lol:

BWAHAHAHAHAHA! I LOVE IT! :rofl:

 

[cosmicfolklore]

It would be interesting to hear Brian interview a ten year old pipe genius.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

You should do it. It would be great.

 

[dread]

Now that would, actually, be interesting.

 

[woodsroad]

+10, ae1pt.
The kid was creepy.

 

[lordnoble]

This thread has become less about a strange interaction with a 10 year old and become a discourse on why "creepy" is a bad adjective to describe a child with an abundance of tobacciana and pipe knowledge. Having patrolled these forums for a few years, I find it comical what people get bent out of shape about. I guess as long as we keep it (mostly) civil, I can deal with it. If it starts to get out of hand, I'm closing it down.
-Jason

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I wonder if there would be a job for someone who had spent a better part of their life studying pipes and tobaccos, without having ever tried them? Somewhere in the pipe industry? I bet the chances are better than if the specialty was Art History, ha ha.

 

[rx2man]

There was a "60 minutes" episode or the like with the guy below. He has asperger syndrome. The guy is a trip, he learned the icelandic language in a week. Icelandic is supposed to be one of the harder languages to learn, I still struggle with my native language of English. While he has asperger he is extremely high functioning and from watching the show he was really interesting.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Tammet

 

[adam12]

Personally I would've challenged the kid to tell me his take on the stem styles of Ukrainian versus Russian carvers, the composition of corian used in the Michigan carver clique, his take on the impact of seasonal weather patterns of the last 10 years of Chicago shows on attendance, his opinion on the on his preferred beard styles of the Nashville associated carving community, and his response to this discussion question: "Vollmer or Nilsson: who makes a better lovat?"

 

[easterntraveler]

I find it interesting that the person who originally posted this topic never claimed that they knew for sure that the kid had any mental disordered but that he was wondering if he might have had one. Everyone trying to attack the poster is blatantly assuming the child had a disorder. This situation is creepy as hell because a 10 year old was highly knowledgeable about a subject only an adult or young adult should be concerned with. Cut the political correctness garbage. As if you have never made a comment someone else thought was distasteful. I believe cosmic folklore had zero intention of it being a negative thing. Learn to understand tone and and mood during a conversation.

 

[woodsroad]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXWBvB4U-cA