Pipes

This is a completely off topic post that really doesn’t have much to do with politics. It does, however, have everything to do with my lifestyle. Before I begin, please note that I am not attempting to convince anyone to smoke. At the same time, I’m encouraging those who already do to pick up the pipe!

Around June or July of this year, I took up the pipe simply out of a desire to save money. I was getting tired of being taxed to death on cigarettes. With a pack nearing $5, and me smoking on average a pack a day, that was simply too expensive for my blood. When I picked up the pipe, in reality, I never went back.

For those of you who consider pipe smoking as an outdated “fashion,” I’d like to refer you to the OoOPS Famous Pipe Smokers List.

For instance, I bet you didn’t know that Ronald Reagan smoked a pipe! Here are some more famous people who have partaken of this delightful weed:

John Adams
Neil Armstrong
Yul Brynner
Samuel Clemens
Bill Cosby
Davy Crocket
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Wyatt Earp
Albert Einstein
Dwight Eisenhower
John Ford
Ulysses S. Grant
Edwin P. Hubble
Andrew Jackson
C.S. Lewis
Douglas MacArthur
Isaac Newton
George Patton
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Dr. Seuss
Sylvester Stallone
J.R.R. Tolkien
Bob Villa

For me, the pipe is a relic of a past era where times were slower, people stopped to say “hello,” and intellect was considered a greater commodity than beauty or wealth. Some of the greatest minds and personalities in the Western experience either were or currently are pipe smokers.

As I go through the day and then close down my night, the aromas of high quality tobacco waft through the air – the smoke curling gently as if to say, “all is well.” A cigarette is for a fast infusion of nicotine whereas a pipe is for far more then simply an addiction. It still represents class, etiquette and sophistication. It represents a by-gone era.

In this day and age, people have been convinced that tobacco is a great evil, its users scorned and itself taxed into non-existence. Yet in the meantime, marijuana is promoted as a “medicine” for those suffering from some sort of illness and society is being pressed towards its acceptance. As a matter of fact, it is so accepted that while still being “illegal,” it will now be taxed. That’s right, while tobacco, the master of the ages is being persecuted, marijuana is all but accepted and praised for its “benefits.”

I’ll be smoking a pipe until my last breath. As I write articles and fanciful tales of knights in shining armor, smoke will be slowly drifting from my Peterson. Then, I’ll let the smooth aroma of Irish Cream waft past my nostrils as I dictate songs of passion into poetic beauty.

If you currently smoke, I highly recommend that you consider the pipe. It is truly an art form that will take you back to kinder, gentler days.

Recommended Tobacco Sites:

My Pipes Community – An excellent resource for beginners and old timers alike
Tobacco Reviews – A good resource for obtaining user reviews on the plethora of tobacco blends available
Outwest Tobacco – My local supplier known for their outstanding customer service and high quality products

PS - if you do shop Outwest Tobacco, please let them know you heard about them here!