Ah Wilderness!

Those of you who are theatre buffs undoubtedly wondered whether I’d changed from blogging about pipes and tobaccos to blogging about theatre. No, this isn’t a post about Eugene O’Neil’s novel and play from the 1930s. I’m writing about McClelland’s production of Fred Hanna’s marvelous blend, Wilderness, a winning blend of Red Virginias, Syrian Latakia, Orientals (Drama and Yenidje), and a few other secret component tobaccos.

Fred Hanna is a friend of mine as those of you who are regular readers here already can attest. Fred’s devotion to and obsession with the great old English blend, Marcovitch, is a subject I’ve written about here. It is also something important to know about Fred’s taste in tobaccos because, to my palate, there are some similarities between Marcovitch Black and White and Wilderness.

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Reconnoitering with humility.

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Of the many aspects of this hobby for which I’m grateful, the many friends I’ve made ranks first. There are some absolutely wonderful people in the pipe world and my life circumstances make it possible for me to meet and get to know people, often on their home turf.

Fred Hanna in Chicago receiving the Doctor of Pipes award.Last evening, Fred Hanna visited me. It is always a treat to invite friends into my pipe world here in Greater Washington, DC. I wish it happened more often.

This week Fred is teaching a seminar for Johns Hopkins University in Columbia, Maryland. When he finished his day yesterday, he hopped into his rental Nissan and made the drive down to my neighborhood tobacconist here in Falls Church, Virginia.

We reconnoitered at 6 PM, went back into the lounge and spent two and a half hours enjoying some vintage tobacco, catching up, and discussing an astonishing range of topics than ran the gamut of North American artisanal history to the influence of the Danish makers on contemporary American artisans to current design trends. It was the kind of discussion that I find myself hungering for on a more regular basis and, frankly, that made our time together even more special.

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