How much does our environment influence us...?

Mary Tolkein

JR Tolkein was influenced by two important people in life. His mother, who was a teacher and had Tolkein reading in Latin and English by the age of 12. She passed on to him her love of books. After her death Tolkein and his brother were raised by a country priest in England. The good father gave Tolkein his love of pipes and good tobaccos. Which of course appears in the characters of the “Lord of the Rings”.

Father Francis Morgan

JRR Tolkein

Who then shapes our lives? In my family, the love of pipes and tobaccos came from my paternal grandfather, my father after he opened our smoke shop. At the time more of a pipe shop, with “some” cigars, imported cigarettes, hand crafted pipe tobacco (by us), briar made pipes, lighters and so on.

My father had been in retail most of his life and decided to open a smoking shop in St. Armand’s circle in Sarasota. Located in the North West side of Florida. He called it Bennington Tobacconist. A nice old British name with a stout ring to it. Had a crest made for it and the smoke shop “Bennington’s” was created. He knew nothing about pipes, tobacco or cigars except for how to smoke them…lol But he knew what was good customer service, which was the basis of any retail business.

In those days, boxing promoters, writers, armed forces offices, professors, baseball players, gangsters and politicians were the characters in our society who appreciated a good cigar (Cuba didn’t get kicked to the curb until 1961), or a quiet thinking bowl of tobacco.

I firmly believe that our environment pushes us somehow to do or to walk the same paths as our parents, mentors or even best friends.

The terms… “ the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree…” or “cut from the same cloth” sums up in a few words the history of most families…

Long Ashes………..

Jim Bennington