Greetings from Iraq!

Anthony · Subject: Greetings from Iraq! Mon Nov 02, 2009 2:12 pm

First off,

This forum seems like a fairly close knit network of friends, and I'd like to introduce myself.

My name is Anthony. I'm 24, and I'm originally from Western Nevada. I am currently deployed with the Army within Baghdad, Iraq. I picked up pipe smoking while in Iraq as a way to decongest from the stress and rigors of deployment, and it has become an activity close to my heart which I do not see myself parting with for at least the next 75 years or so. tongue

I started off with an old Lorenzo from the early 70's; a black sandblasted bent billiard with a decent sized bowl. She's not the prettiest gal, but she's become a close friend of mine and you couldn't get me to sell her for a million dollars. Alongside her, I have a Peterson's Captain Pete, straight stemmed bulldog with quite a large bowl that I personally love to fill with a good flake (Penzance + huge bowl= twice the already lengthy burn time, and what seems like an even cooler smoke), preferrably English blends heavy on the Latakia side. Penzance, Nightcap, Irish Flake, 965, and And So To Bed are perfect here during the cool desert nights here. I also have a couple cob pipes that I use to play around with aromatics now and again (I quite enjoy a good cherry tobacco).

One highlight about Iraq is that here, it's almost taboo to NOT smoke, and often. I've had the luxury of coming across some of the local blends, and getting Syrian Latakia blends straight from Syria/Iraq. MAN, you want to talk about a STOUT tobacco... What a Face

Unfortunately due to customs restrictions I can't bring any out of country myself, but you can bet money I'm doing what I can to establish relationships in order to make that happen.

As I said previously, pipe smoking is something quite new to me. I had some ultra beginner mistakes to start out, badly packed bowls, and puffing too quickly and placing my tongue right in front of the stem.... Had a case of Kentucky Fried Tongue that made tasting anything impossible, let alone painful. Fortunately I learned from those mistakes and haven't done anything close to that in almost a year now. I'm very open to suggestions and reccomendations from any and all.

As the days pass, I hope to make your acquaintences and stick around for a good while. Out of all the communities I've been involved with, the pipe smoking brotherhood(and sisterhood!) is without a doubt the most friendly and personal I've ever seen.

Here's to searching for the perfect pipe and blend. (and hoping I never find either!)

Respectfully,

Anthony

_________________
People who should be shot: Fascist thugs, religious fundamentalists, people who write lists telling you who should be shot.

jhuggett · Subject: Re: Greetings from Iraq! Mon Nov 02, 2009 2:15 pm

Welcome Anthony! It looks like you are off to a great start on your piping career.

Thanks for your service!

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Jason

kilted1 · Subject: Re: Greetings from Iraq! Mon Nov 02, 2009 2:25 pm

Welcome to BoB and thank you for your service cheers

_________________
I'm a jaded old Iso-Con, get over it!

"Gather me balme and cooling violets,
And of our holy herb nicotian,
And bring withall pure honey from the hive,
To heale the wound of my unhappy hand." Henry Buttes

“A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned this is the sum of good government.” – Thomas Jefferson

Doc Manhattan · Subject: Re: Greetings from Iraq! Mon Nov 02, 2009 2:27 pm

Welcome aboard, Anthony!

Thanks for doing what you do. Stay safe out there and enjoy every puff.

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"Never praise your Cider, Horse, or Bedfellow."
-Ben Franklin

LtMac · Subject: Re: Greetings from Iraq! Mon Nov 02, 2009 4:04 pm

Hello; welcome to BoB and thanks for your service.

LtMac

jeremyt · Subject: Re: Greetings from Iraq! Mon Nov 02, 2009 5:15 pm

Welcome to BOB Anthony. Thank you for your service, my prayers are with you all.

Anthony · Subject: Re: Greetings from Iraq! Mon Nov 02, 2009 5:28 pm

Thank you all for the kind words, it's genuinely appreciated.

I'm looking forward to learning from you all, and taking full advantage of the wealth of information on this forum.

Respectfully,

Anthony

_________________
People who should be shot: Fascist thugs, religious fundamentalists, people who write lists telling you who should be shot.

SailorJack · Subject: Re: Greetings from Iraq! Mon Nov 02, 2009 6:51 pm

Welcome Aboard Anthony! Looks like you have hit the ground running with pipe smoking. Please watch you ass over there.

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"May my last breath be drawn through a pipe, and exhaled in a jest"
- Charles Lamb

Centurian 803 · Subject: Re: Greetings from Iraq! Mon Nov 02, 2009 8:05 pm

Welcome Anthony. Thank you so much for serving. If there is anything I can do for you, and I'm sure the brothers all feel the same, just let me know. As for the fellowhip, pull up a stool, load up a bowl, and jump right in. Very Happy

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A pipe is to the troubled soul what caresses of a mother are for her suffering child. Indian Proverb

Al in Canada · Subject: Re: Greetings from Iraq! Mon Nov 02, 2009 8:58 pm

Anthony
Welcome aboard, and enjoy. About the only exception to the close knit firendship comes in
"The Rubber Room", but we go in there knowing that the discussion is more contentious, and the gloves can come off on occasion, as the topics heat up. "Tis simple enough, if you don't like an argument, stay out of the room

.It is mostly off topic stuff any way, which I enjoy, like questions of politics and religion, etc.

Good luck with your tour, and may it be uneventful and boring.

Al (in Canada)
Cambridge Blend in DH Cumberland

Trout Bum · Subject: Re: Greetings from Iraq! Wed Nov 04, 2009 7:45 am

Welcome to the BoB, Anthony. Many thanks for your services to this great country. Hang around and smoke some bowls!

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Many men fish their entire lives and never realize that it is not fish that they are after. -- Henry David Thoreau

Ol'Dawg · Subject: Re: Greetings from Iraq! Wed Nov 04, 2009 9:17 am

A big howdy and welcome!

Jim

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Life is like a bath..the longer you stay in the more wrinkled you get.

Smokey Joe · Subject: Re: Greetings from Iraq! Thu Nov 05, 2009 7:04 pm

Welcome Anthony and thank you for your service! Very Happy

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"Getting old is like being increasingly penalized for a crime you never committed" Anthony Powell

Benjamin Button · Number of posts: 252 Age: 29 Registration date: 2008-10-10

Greetings Anthony!

We couldn't be more proud of you over there! Thank you for your commitment to our country! We look forward to "sharing a few bowls" with you.

-Adam

Buddy Springman · Subject: Re: Greetings from Iraq! Fri Nov 06, 2009 12:53 pm

Greetins, Anthony! Thank you. Come back often.

Take care of yourself.

Buddy