Amu Torres

  PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS The Texas Pipe Show is a month away and if you've haven't heard, PPN will have a table chock-full of donations for the Charles Peterson Memorial, ranging from some real bargains (under $30) to some artisan pipes (by our own Fletch Hiner) to some fantastic Petes--which we'll try to sell at reasonable prices and failing that, pack up and auction off on eBay afterwards. If you've got pipes you no longer smoke, whether they're Petes or not, and tins or accessories, give a thought to donating them. Everyone who sends a donation will receive a CP Memorial Zippo when they arrive late in November. All proceeds will go to the GoFundMe, which you can read more about in previous posts. Of course, you can also make a direct donation to GoFundMe. We're at 22%, and I'll be writing with an update about what Jonathan and I know in a few weeks.   We met our minimum requirement for ordering the Charles Peterson Memorial Zippo. The Google Order Form will be kept open to the end of the week. Here's the details: All proceeds will go to the Charles Peterson Memorial Fund. We need a minimum order of 30 lighters Price in the US including first class shipping and tax: $49.95 Price outside the US, including USPS First-class Package International Service Shipping: $74.95 Deadline: Tuesday, October 27, 2026 You will invoiced through PayPal when the lighters are ready to ship (probably mid-December) You MUST fill out the Google form below to be eligible Questions? Send email to petegeek1896@gmail.com CP MEMORIAL GOOGLE ORDERING FORM   AMU TORRES: PETE GEEK, PIPEMEDIC AND LAUDISI REP TO THE MIDWEST So I first met up with Amu a few years back at the Chicago Pipe Show. Ostensibly, his day job is as Laudisi Enterprise’s Midwest Rep. But there’s a whole lot more to the story. He’s one of those guys who is to all of us of my age and younger like the late Fred Janusek was to pipemen my age and older in Chicago for decades and decades. Amu is one of those of whom it is rightly said, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” There’s not enough pipemen nor human beings in the world of whom this is true. Amu is one of them. Next time you’re at the Chicago show, just hang in the vicinity of his table and watch. I’ve seen a zillion guys at tables put on dog and pony shows and then you turn your back and they’ve forgotten who you are—as you find out when you walk down the hall two days later and they won’t even make eye contact. Amu is the kind of guy that when he meets you three YEARS later walks up, shakes your hand and asks you if you ever found that Holy Grail B42 Peterson you were looking for. He’s one of the rarest of all pipemen: someone who bridges the chasm between the…