OK, topic for discussion.
Context:
I'm old, verging on codger at 58, and I've been smoking a pipe for nearly 40 years. I learned at the knee of several certified codger uncles.
Proposition:
I'm FINE with all the hipster interest in pipe smoking. Indeed, I encourage it. They are GOOD for pipe smoking. So welcome Mr. Man-Bun, Skinny-Jeans, Big-Beard, Ironic Glasses Guy. Have a seat, pack a bowl, enjoy.
Rationale:
Yeah, I get it. A lot of the millennials' interest in pipes comes from a dubious, fashion-driven place. And most of the 28-year-olds dropping $500 on a pipe and tobacco and an engraved lighter before they've smoked their first cob will, soon enough, walk away in favor of the Next Cool Thing®.
But., . . well, two "buts."
But No. 1 is that some of them won't. Some of these kids will find the pleasures of pipe smoking just as abiding as we old farts do and they will stay with it, meaning the pastime won't die with us.
But No. 2, though, is bigger (I like big buts and I cannot lie. . .sorry): I think these kids are good for the whole undertaking. They approach all their interests with an intensity, study and passion that can, at the best, elevate the state of the art. In the same way that it is easier now that it was 10 years ago to find a bar that really knows how to make a good Manhattan, because "cocktail culture" became a thing for them, I think their sharp interest in pipe smoking is already bringing new ideas about the crafts of pipemaking and tobacco blending.
Sure, some of it gets a little silly, just like with the cocktails. But the rising tide lifts all boats.
I also think some of the interest these kids have in pipes has to do with an desire -- maybe inchoate and unspoken, but real -- to tap into a time and place where values and simple manhood were simpler, better understood and more appreciated. If that's even a little true, then that's good not just for pipes, but for the state of the nation.
What say you?
Context:
I'm old, verging on codger at 58, and I've been smoking a pipe for nearly 40 years. I learned at the knee of several certified codger uncles.
Proposition:
I'm FINE with all the hipster interest in pipe smoking. Indeed, I encourage it. They are GOOD for pipe smoking. So welcome Mr. Man-Bun, Skinny-Jeans, Big-Beard, Ironic Glasses Guy. Have a seat, pack a bowl, enjoy.
Rationale:
Yeah, I get it. A lot of the millennials' interest in pipes comes from a dubious, fashion-driven place. And most of the 28-year-olds dropping $500 on a pipe and tobacco and an engraved lighter before they've smoked their first cob will, soon enough, walk away in favor of the Next Cool Thing®.
But., . . well, two "buts."
But No. 1 is that some of them won't. Some of these kids will find the pleasures of pipe smoking just as abiding as we old farts do and they will stay with it, meaning the pastime won't die with us.
But No. 2, though, is bigger (I like big buts and I cannot lie. . .sorry): I think these kids are good for the whole undertaking. They approach all their interests with an intensity, study and passion that can, at the best, elevate the state of the art. In the same way that it is easier now that it was 10 years ago to find a bar that really knows how to make a good Manhattan, because "cocktail culture" became a thing for them, I think their sharp interest in pipe smoking is already bringing new ideas about the crafts of pipemaking and tobacco blending.
Sure, some of it gets a little silly, just like with the cocktails. But the rising tide lifts all boats.
I also think some of the interest these kids have in pipes has to do with an desire -- maybe inchoate and unspoken, but real -- to tap into a time and place where values and simple manhood were simpler, better understood and more appreciated. If that's even a little true, then that's good not just for pipes, but for the state of the nation.
What say you?