Taking part in the Chicago Pipe Show is like stepping into a parallel dimension, and I just love science fiction. So, this year I decided to participate too, under the wise guidance of my teacher, Mimmo Romeo, the perfect Dantesque companion in pipe heaven.
As prepared as we were, Maria – my partner – and I were still dazed when faced with the emotion that this event brings to those who participate.
We realised that we were dealing with a strange kind of madness as soon as we arrived in St. Charles, in the smoky welcome tent enlightened by bizarre music, yet perfectly in tune with the occasion. However, the following days were so overwhelming that we couldn’t even stop for a second to reflect on what we were experiencing. Only on the last day were we able to ask ourselves: what is it that makes this show so special? Maybe David’s coffees in his room, open at any time of the day or night to anyone who fancied a chat surrounded by a cloud of smoke and warm and sincere hospitality? Or maybe the sight of all the Danish teachers together, albeit cold and stiff ? Or maybe the pleasure of chatting to the finest Italian teachers, oh-so loquacious and joyful? Or maybe the passionate collectors wandering around eagle-eyed, yet always willing to exchange a few words? Or maybe the Asian dealers, so voracious of Western beauty that they began wandering around the pipe makers’ rooms before the show even started?
I don’t know, all I can say is there’s a strange air about the place, and I hope it lasts for a long time, although the world is changing at an increasingly fast pace and you can never really tell.
We inadvertently discussed the only possible explanation together with Mimmo, in a limousine the length of a lorry carrying us to the plane headed home, with the Illinois landscapes skimming past the blacked-out windows.
Is it a matter of energy?
Thousands of hours of work transforming simple pieces of root into small and large masterpieces: how much energy (physical but above all mental) is contained within? And where does this energy end? Well, I believe that in some way, incomprehensible to us, it continues circulating. And it’s positive energy, that’s why it feels so good at the Chicago pipe show.
How could we not go back there?
More photo here – more video here.
