The "Adventure" But Also More

 

 

 Ok.  First the bulleted list:

• I am not sure exactly how this memory popped into my head, but today I have been thinking and reminiscing over a favorite film of mine.  The film is "The Sterile Cuckoo".  It was released in 1969, and has a classic movie theme song as well.  I used to be able to play this song on the piano.  Perhaps if I found where the sheet music is.... if I remember correctly, it is in a "Fake Book" (but who knows where the hell it is in the house), I could play it again.  Below, I have a link to the theme song:
  

Come Saturday Morning (by the Sandpipers..... the theme song from the movie, "The Sterile Cuckoo")

• I have also found that apparently I can view the whole film again via YouTube.  I am going to have to try to convince my wife that we NEED to watch this film.  I remember it so very fondly.  I think she would like the film, even though she tends to not be particularly nostalgic like I am.  But, when I suggest films and shows to watch from back in the day, she very frequently wrinkles her nose or sighs. But, this is one I truly think she will like. 
  

•  I ran my 10.2 miles this morning.  

• We are going to have what we call "Chickpea Chill" this evening for dinner.  Basically, it is a pleasantly heavily spiced white chicken chili recipe that we converted to vegetarian one time for some vegetarian friends.... basically I substituted chickpeas for chicken.  We ended up actually liking the way it turned out better in the chickpea form than when it was made with chicken... and have made it vegetarian ever since.  It is heavily filled with spices, and has Northern Beans and Chickpeas.  It is wonderful and robust.  

• We had lows around 42 degrees F (~5 C) overnight... I am glad it did not go any lower, as I was getting nervous about the garden.  

* * * * *

Ok.  Well, here goes my attempt to write out about my failed "adventure".  Several days in advance of the required U related overnight trip I had to take, I looked around while getting a hotel, and searched up some of the things in the city that I might like to do in the evening.  But first a caveat:

Being fully vaccinated for greater than two weeks.... means I am as safe as I can currently be against the damnable COVID-19 virus... and ALL MEMBERS of my family have been fully vaccinated for greater than two weeks now too.  This  means I am getting a little bit more comfortable in not always being fully masked.  Now, do not get me wrong.... in general I am quite conservative about my actions in this regard.... truth-be-told, even though in my state and in most states of the U.S. at the moment, virtually all mask wearing (of fully vaccinated people) is not required..... I still tend to wear a mask in even only modestly crowded indoor areas, and also in any area where I think the ventilation may be subpar. So, I am wearing my mask a helluva lot still, even though most folks around me are not.  To me, it makes scientific sense.  My vaccination does not mean I cannot get COVID-19, only that my symptoms are likely to be less severe.  I am still taking a wait-and-see approach and keeping close track of the numbers... and they need to be far lower before I will regularly go mask-less.

So, in my searching around for something to do in the evening that would be fun, I happened (hah... I guess I specifically looked) and found that there was a tobacco shop in the town.... and.... it happened to have what was called a "cigar bar" associated with it.  Now, that tickled my fancy no end.  I began to envision a place where I could go that would allow me to have a drink or two, and smoke my pipe in a venue that *seemed* at least somewhat unlikely to cause me to fully fall back into the beloved habit in the way I had enjoyed it previously.  I was *thinking* as it was a specific, rare location, that it would pose limited risk in this regard.  

So, for a day or two, I was growing ever more excited!  I had picked a pipe to bring with me, and was eagerly looking forward to the trip.  But.... then two days before the trip, I was reading about the "cigar bar" more carefully online.... and I came to realize that "due to state regulations" the "cigar bar" ONLY was able to allow cigar smoking in the bar.  It specifically said pipes (and other tobacco products) were prohibited.  This put a damper on my plans, and at first I was a bit grumpy.  But... the more I thought about it.... I thought.... well.... ok.  Although I was never a big cigar fan.... during my many years of being a pipe smoker, I would have perhaps 1 or 2 cigars a year.  I thought.... well.... maybe that wouldn't be so bad in itself.  Perhaps I could still enjoy the experience.... the adventure... and enjoy a cigar with a drink or two.  I put my pipe back on the rack and did not take it with me.... but as I drove, I did think it would be a helluva lot of fun to have a cigar and a few drinks at the "cigar bar".  So, it still seemed like I could have an adventure.    

In my mind, as I drove, I was imagining what type of "bar" experience it would be, and I presumed it would fall into one of three different "types":

1.  One possibility I thought likely was that it would be extremely "trendy" and filled with "business types" who were mostly networking and posing in the establishment.  While not the most exciting idea, I figured I could easily still enjoy myself and "fit in" as my frumpy self, where even though I was by no means "trendy" I could be either accepted as an "oddity" or a "throwback" to an earlier time.... or just basically "ignored" by the trendy folks.  

2.  Another possibility is that I was imagining that the place would be somewhat "homespun" and rather "old school"  (codgery) and "blue collar".  Those venues would be very comfortable for me.  And, even if it came with perhaps a touch of a "country" vibe.... that would be ok.  While "country" is not something I would particularly gravitate towards, it is a comfortable setting that I at least understand and can deal with, and if it is just homespun, old-school, or "blue-collar".... those are all a damn easy fit in my comfort zone.  And, "codgery" is right up my alley!  So, this would be something enjoyable as well.  

3.   The third possibility I envisioned is that it would be more "young kid - collegial" perhaps filled with a fair share of millennials and their attempts to be hip or "hipster" and.... basically college kids.  This too would be an easy enough place for me to fit in, as I could simply muster up my natural inclination towards my "sagely college professor" demeanor and fit comfortably.   

So, with the thoughts that this "cigar bar" would fall into one of the three camps above, I felt pretty excited about the experience.  And, so when I arrived at the meeting early in the morning, I was eager for the day's worth of meetings.... but was also imagining the early evening experience as well.  

The meetings themselves were generally interesting, and I was able to contribute well.  By the time the meetings concluded around 5:30, though, I was very much looking forward to being out of "meeting mode" until the next morning.  

I went back to my hotel, showered and freshened up myself.  And, then I began to walk towards the location in the city where the "cigar bar" was located.  It was roughly 1.5 miles (~2.5km) from my hotel.  The walk felt nice.  Even though I had ran in the morning before taking off on the trip, sitting in meetings had stiffened me up a bit, and walking felt good.  I had a mask with me, just in case it was needed, but walking outside, it was not required.  I passed by and made note of several places that would be interesting, perhaps to eat or look at for gifts to purchase on my way back to the hotel.  Finally, I came upon the block where the "cigar bar" was located.  From the outside, it looked like it would be of the "trendy" variety.  And, that was "ok".  

When I entered the building, the entryway bifurcated to the left and to the right.  The left had a narrow hallway that led towards the bar.  The right had a narrow hallway that led to the tobacconist shop.  I went to the right thinking I might need to purchase my cigar there first.  The worker (proprietor?  not really sure) there was a huge, muscle bound fellow wearing a tank top and shorts and sporting quite vivid, elaborate tattoos on every inch of exposed skin.... arms, legs, neck, and even a few small ones on his face.  The tattoos were mostly very dark, and featured a helluva lot of skulls, death symbols, crosses, and other imagery that at least I associate with "goth heavy metal" subculture.  He was bald as a cueball, having appeared to have shaved his head.  He also had those types of ear rings on that were designed to stretch out your earlobe to enormous proportions.  His ear RINGS elongating his earlobes had to be almost two inches in diameter.  He was rather quiet, but had some ear buds in his ears listening to something or other.  He was smoking the stub of a cigar.  He was not exactly the type of shop worker I was expecting, but I decided to look around anyway.  

The place *did* have a huge, walk-in humidor of cigars probably 15 by 25 feet in length.  It was the lion's share of the space, actually.  Outside of the humidor was a glass fronted cupboard with a few jars of pipe tobacco and a small column of pipes.  I looked at them for a while.  One pipe was a Peterson, of a similar model to one that I myself have.  I looked at astonishment at the price tag they put on the beast.... it was in the $400.00 range.  That was truly highway robbery, and was not a legitimate price.... I know pipe pricing.  The rest of the pipes were no-name "basket" pipes of a few sorts.  There were perhaps 10 of these.  Normal prices for basket pipes would hover in the $25 -$60 range.  But, every damn one of these was sporting a tag in the neighborhood of $100 - $150.  And, the pipe tobacco itself was pricey but also hum-drum.  They were selling a 1.5 OUNCE package of pipe tobacco that was a house blend (that smelled like simple vanilla tinctured pipe tobacco) for $37.00!!!!!!!  This was ludicrous.  

But, in the quest for adventure, I tried to just look beyond the pipes and decided to go into the cigar humidor to try to figure out what to get.  Even though I do not know the prices of cigars in anywhere near the way I do pipes and pipe tobaccos.... I could still tell prices were hiked up to rather extraordinary levels.  The least expensive, rather pitiful looking cigar I could find in the humidor was $24.  And, the more normal cigars and some of the garishly large cigars were easily double or triple that.   

It was rather crazily priced, I know... but I figured... what the hell..... one (overly priced) cigar.... for an "adventure".... I could still do this.  

I went back out of the humidor and tried to engage "Tattoo Man" in some conversation.  It took a bit for him to break away from whatever was on his phone and coming in his earbud.  But, I began to ask how to go about buying a cigar for the bar.  He told me I should look around and decide what I was interested in, and then I would have to go into the bar and order it there (some other regulation, I guess).  The bartender or waitperson would then get the cigar and bring it to me and also make any drink I had wanted.  

Ok.... so.... I moseyed back toward the bar hallway.  It was rather long.. and as I drew closer, it was becoming rather noisy as well. 

When I finally entered the bar room, I was rather taken aback.  The place was rather dark and had (to me anyway) a dank, clammy feel.  Most of the illumination in the place was from a variety of video screens and a few of what appeared to be "black lights".  There were only perhaps a half a dozen folks in the bar at this time, as I probably was a bit early for the "party crowd".  There was some sort of heavy metal music playing..... an incredibly chaotic, very fast type.... "thrash" perhaps? And, each customer seemed to be some sort of burly clone of the fellow in the tobacco shop..... and each was very actively involved in some damnable video game of some sort playing on the monitor in front of them.  They each sported headphones that I am used to seeing and remembering in the 1970s.  

No real tables to speak of, no seats other than those at the terminals.... or a few lone stools at the bar itself.  

I was crestfallen.  This would not be a "fun" place for me to spend an hour or two or three.  I was already getting a damn headache from the noise.  I simply walked back out, down the long hallway, and then exited from the building.  I was very disappointed.

As I walked back toward the hotel, I stopped and bought a double scoop ice cream cone.  One scoop was Chocolate Moose Tracks, and the other was Chocolate Peanut Butter.  

So.... that was my "adventure" as it were.  I am going to stop here for today.  Perhaps tomorrow or in a day or two, I will try to write about my thoughts about the adventure.

PipeTobacco