Wherever I go, I tend to carry at least one pipe, a pouch of tobacco, a couple pipe cleaners, and a lighter. I even have a stash of pipe cleaners in the glove compartment of my car for emergencies - sudden-onset gurgling, and the like. You never know when the wife will unexpectedly veer into a store, leaving you with the option to either tag along to gaze at the season’s shoe selection or sit out front of the boutique with a pipe, waiting for her to spend forty-five minutes conjecturing on foot wear. I really don’t mind. Just as long as I have my pipe.

So when we went to the beach this Saturday morning to get some fresh air, some sun, and to play around in the warm Atlantic water, along with our bag of beach towels, swim suits, cell phones, house keys, car keys, digital cameras, sunglasses, magazines, extra sandals, and a couple twenty ounce bottles of Mello-Yello, I managed to pack a Lasse Skovgaard sandblasted Blowfish, an Old Boy pipe lighter, and a leather pouch filled with my own personal blend of Gawith & Hoggarth tobacco (tweny-five percent Kendal Kentucky and seventy-five percent Kendal Light/Gold). Yeah, we brought a lot of junk for a two hour visit to the ocean. But the pipe is a must. You don’t even want to know me before I’ve smoked my morning pipe.

We’re stretched out on the beach, my beautiful wife in her new blue bikini and I in a cotton tee and blue jeans rolled up at the cuffs. I figure it’s way past time I get down to relaxing with a big bowl of burley. Because I’m a Californian native, where smoking is a no-no, this will be my first pipe smoking at the beach episode. As you may already know, I’m a great proponent of public pipe smoking. I think it’s good for the apathetic denizens of a general population starched in anti-tobacco sentiment to see us in action. I’m pretty used to the customary bemused reaction of children and grownups alike when seeing either their first pipe smoker ever or their first pipe smoker in twenty plus years. But smoking a pipe on beach is a little different.

There already exists on the beach an attitude that it’s OK to stare at anyone who also happens to be at the beach. Some people go to the beach to stare. Some people go to the beach to give other people a reason to stare. I learned that when smoking a pipe on the beach you are inviting people to stare at you.

That’s why it’s important to carry around a good looking pipe. Fortunately we’ve got you covered. Tonight we’re offering new works from Savinelli and Luciano, as well as Brigham, Peterson and the ever-stylish Dunhill. To go with these briars, you'll also find new tampers from Macek and Tsuge. Pick up a new pipe and a tin of Mac Baren’s HH Highland Blend and you’ll be worthy of all kinds of gawking, glaring, and gazing the next time you step foot near the seashore. And for when you choose to stay home, why not try out one of the fifteen new Lampe Berger fragrances on offer?

Ted Swearingen: Sales Manager