The current "What historical figure would you most like to share a pipe and conversation with?" thread got me to thinking about something that happened almost 20 years ago.
The Internet was only websites, then. No social media. Meaning all subject-specific interests had numerous threaded forums. Pipes and tobacco had about a dozen. Indeed, a number of individual B&M shops even had their own.
One of those was known as the KnoxBoard, because it was hosted by the Knoxville Cigar Company (they also sold pipes).
I was one of its many members, and got to "electronically" know a fair number of people through it.
One day, one of the regulars---a guy known as "TJ"---invited a half dozen of us to a special event of sorts, via private message.
He confided that he had ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), could tell he was coming in for a landing, and wanted to host a meet-up of his pipe smoking electronic friends while he still had the ability to participate and enjoy it.
And by host, I mean the real deal. He'd been a successful banker, and had a large house on the edge of a canyon overlooking Yosemite Park. Probably 4500-5000 square feet with a huge deck, a commercial-grade kitchen, and a massive "man cave" with a giant fireplace and state of the art audio system.
All we had to do is show up. Food would be provided (he hired a pro chef), plenty of space to sleep, etc.
Bring along whatever you want when it comes to pipes, tobacco, or music, he said, and the rest will take care of itself.
Of the invitees, only one couldn't make it. Those who could make it came from New York, Ohio, Georgia, Wyoming, and three from California.
To add to the fun, during the meet-up, each of us wrote a "review" style account that was posted on the KnoxBoard in realtime.
Though the board closed a couple years later (Knox Cigar got sold, and the new owner didn't want to mess with it), one of the meet-up attendees made a copy of the review thread before it disappeared, and sent it to the rest of us for posterity.
Below is what I wrote. (Mine was the last entry/review, and was written after arriving back in Wyoming)
Why reprint it here?
As I said, the "What historical figure...?" thread got me thinking about the TJ meet-up. Specifically, about how you might think you can't do better than by selecting famous people from the past, when in fact there's the possibility you can... in the here and now.
You're NOT just imagining things or being irrationally hopeful, in other words, if you've daydreamed about arranging a gathering of your friends on THIS board. Because magic, though not guaranteed, is definitely real. And it appears in ways you do not expect or see coming.
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LL 23 May : When it comes to the relating of unbelievable stories, it's usually the first person who doesn't have a chance. In this case, it's the last one.
So, a resounding DITTO! To every word of the above. To even try to top those descriptions would be like spray painting a rose.
I would like to add two things only:
The choices available following an "anticipated life event" of any type, from movies and picnics to standing on the top of a mountain are:
-- It fell short of expectations
-- It equalled expectations
-- It exceeded expectations
My trip to Sonora made me realize there's a fourth one:
-- Some things are so far out of your experience that the entire concept of "expectations" doesn't even apply. I'm sure Neil Armstrong felt it, standing on the moon; as did the men who piloted the Trieste to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Life lived at a level so wholly different that your experience provides no reference point.
While those are physical examples, I assure you it applies in the same way to people like me who live primarily in their heads, in a world of ideas. I know because I was immersed in it only 36 hours ago. The combinatorial effect of being in the company of the half-dozen absolute gentlemen at TJ's Smoker---brilliant, warm, passionate, generous, talented, knowledgeable, and articulate, one and all---was easily my lifetime high water mark for such occasions, and is now one of the crown jewels in my Life Memory collection. My only two regrets are that it couldn't last forever, and that everyone who wanted to attend, couldn't.
The other thing I want to add concerns TJ. Because of my good fortune in arriving first, and the luxury of not having a commitment or plane to catch afterward, I had more one-on-one time with TJ and Jonnie than anyone else.
And in those hours, I learned this: True Love exists in the world. I'm not referring to the fact that his Bill O'Reilly-affected board persona is an utter sham, and he is one of the kindest and most gentle people who ever lived---but that it is impossible to speak of TJ without also referring to his wife. They share a Love that makes Hollywood's notion of "love" an embarrassment. Not only two of the finest people I've ever known, they are, truly, Spirit Twins joined at the heart.
To have simply been in the same room with such a thing---the purity and intensity of their devotion to each other radiated from the very walls---makes me feel fortunate beyond description, and has caused me to re-evaluate my entire life. Thank you, Tom and Jonnie, from the bottom of my heart.
The Internet was only websites, then. No social media. Meaning all subject-specific interests had numerous threaded forums. Pipes and tobacco had about a dozen. Indeed, a number of individual B&M shops even had their own.
One of those was known as the KnoxBoard, because it was hosted by the Knoxville Cigar Company (they also sold pipes).
I was one of its many members, and got to "electronically" know a fair number of people through it.
One day, one of the regulars---a guy known as "TJ"---invited a half dozen of us to a special event of sorts, via private message.
He confided that he had ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), could tell he was coming in for a landing, and wanted to host a meet-up of his pipe smoking electronic friends while he still had the ability to participate and enjoy it.
And by host, I mean the real deal. He'd been a successful banker, and had a large house on the edge of a canyon overlooking Yosemite Park. Probably 4500-5000 square feet with a huge deck, a commercial-grade kitchen, and a massive "man cave" with a giant fireplace and state of the art audio system.
All we had to do is show up. Food would be provided (he hired a pro chef), plenty of space to sleep, etc.
Bring along whatever you want when it comes to pipes, tobacco, or music, he said, and the rest will take care of itself.
Of the invitees, only one couldn't make it. Those who could make it came from New York, Ohio, Georgia, Wyoming, and three from California.
To add to the fun, during the meet-up, each of us wrote a "review" style account that was posted on the KnoxBoard in realtime.
Though the board closed a couple years later (Knox Cigar got sold, and the new owner didn't want to mess with it), one of the meet-up attendees made a copy of the review thread before it disappeared, and sent it to the rest of us for posterity.
Below is what I wrote. (Mine was the last entry/review, and was written after arriving back in Wyoming)
Why reprint it here?
As I said, the "What historical figure...?" thread got me thinking about the TJ meet-up. Specifically, about how you might think you can't do better than by selecting famous people from the past, when in fact there's the possibility you can... in the here and now.
You're NOT just imagining things or being irrationally hopeful, in other words, if you've daydreamed about arranging a gathering of your friends on THIS board. Because magic, though not guaranteed, is definitely real. And it appears in ways you do not expect or see coming.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LL 23 May : When it comes to the relating of unbelievable stories, it's usually the first person who doesn't have a chance. In this case, it's the last one.
So, a resounding DITTO! To every word of the above. To even try to top those descriptions would be like spray painting a rose.
I would like to add two things only:
The choices available following an "anticipated life event" of any type, from movies and picnics to standing on the top of a mountain are:
-- It fell short of expectations
-- It equalled expectations
-- It exceeded expectations
My trip to Sonora made me realize there's a fourth one:
-- Some things are so far out of your experience that the entire concept of "expectations" doesn't even apply. I'm sure Neil Armstrong felt it, standing on the moon; as did the men who piloted the Trieste to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Life lived at a level so wholly different that your experience provides no reference point.
While those are physical examples, I assure you it applies in the same way to people like me who live primarily in their heads, in a world of ideas. I know because I was immersed in it only 36 hours ago. The combinatorial effect of being in the company of the half-dozen absolute gentlemen at TJ's Smoker---brilliant, warm, passionate, generous, talented, knowledgeable, and articulate, one and all---was easily my lifetime high water mark for such occasions, and is now one of the crown jewels in my Life Memory collection. My only two regrets are that it couldn't last forever, and that everyone who wanted to attend, couldn't.
The other thing I want to add concerns TJ. Because of my good fortune in arriving first, and the luxury of not having a commitment or plane to catch afterward, I had more one-on-one time with TJ and Jonnie than anyone else.
And in those hours, I learned this: True Love exists in the world. I'm not referring to the fact that his Bill O'Reilly-affected board persona is an utter sham, and he is one of the kindest and most gentle people who ever lived---but that it is impossible to speak of TJ without also referring to his wife. They share a Love that makes Hollywood's notion of "love" an embarrassment. Not only two of the finest people I've ever known, they are, truly, Spirit Twins joined at the heart.
To have simply been in the same room with such a thing---the purity and intensity of their devotion to each other radiated from the very walls---makes me feel fortunate beyond description, and has caused me to re-evaluate my entire life. Thank you, Tom and Jonnie, from the bottom of my heart.
