Masculinity disappeared with the pipe.

That was great lol!

That is fantastic stuff. One thing is true...gone are the days of real men...gone are the days. I'm only 38 and risk sounding like a grumpy old fart, but I must vent. Guys today? High lights, Aero Postale, make up? Grown men who don't know how to change a tire and shriek at the mere thought of "putting their back into it" ? No one pulls out a chair, opens up a car door or dares to use their lack of rugged masculinity to help a woman over a mud puddle, carry them over that mud puddle or at the very friggin' least toss their jacket over the puddle. I dunno, I grew up when men were men and I have to say, I love being a man. I'm "that guy". I'm not a grumpy old codger stuck in an era. I am very very forward thinking, very accepting and very very open minded. It just seems to me that men don't grow up to be men anymore and I just don't get it. Seems like we all over reacted to gender inequalities and that rather than change the mechanics of our society so that each gender had equal rights...we all became affraid to be our gender for fear of offending each other. I for one will go down with a pipe in one hand, a scotch in the other, mud on my boots, and a feminine soft woman by my side.
Cheers men.
P.

That is a great article. I know that when Shaun comes home from work, I can always tell when he's smoked a pipe on the way home. He smells like his cologne, tobacco, and him. I love to get my hello hug and bury my nose into his shirt. He takes off his hat, hangs it up and then takes charge of the house.

Here is my belated welcome Cyndi.
It's good to hear a woman that appreciates her man for what he is.

Seems that the happiest couples relationships are based on acceptance of who each other is. (clumsy sentence)

Those that try to change the other are destined for difficulties.

Shaun is lucky man.
And again: Welcome to the Fraternity Sister!

Thanks pstlpkr! As long as Shaun allows me to use my strengths and he uses his own, we do have a happy marriage. (another clumsy sentence. :D) When we try to fit the perceived "mold" of how things worked "before" we start to fail.
I think Shaun is a lucky man too! I know I'm blessed with him.

I grew up in the old south. I always open doors for ladies. I don't think I have to prove my manhood by acting macho. If a guy wants to dress sharp, fuss over his hair, and smell good. It doesn't make him less of a man. My wife doesn't cook. I do. She is all women, and I am confident in my masculinity.

I like to dress sharp and smell good too and I am always the cook in my household...I'm Italian and it sort of comes with birth. I just don't understand the whole girly man thing. Emo guys that seem to go out of their way to be the least amount of masculine possible. I'm not a sloppy neanderthal male at all. I just don't understand this new breed of men that seem to be super soft and women that seem to be super hard.

Greetings all,
Sounds like you all need a good dose of AoM - the Art of Manliness.
http://www.artofmanliness.com/
This site is a must read for all men. Some great advice.
Here's an article on pipe smoking:
http://artofmanliness.com/2009/10/14/a-pipe-smoking-primer/
CACooper

Cooper Pipes

www.PipeandPouch.com

ohin3, I have a great recipe for Umbria. I got it from Keith Floyd, my hero. RIP Keith.

I don't know of a dish called Umbria. There is a very small region in central Italy called Umbria though...perhaps it is a regional favourite?

Beef, shallots, onions, peppers, garlic, half a bottle of wine, and lots of mushrooms.

Ha. I make something very similar to that on a regular basis. Is what you are talking about prepared as a stew of sorts or is most of the liquid cooked off?

Good link to the Art of Manliness. Does it make me less manly to admit that I didn't know it existed? Ah well. Yet another of life's little disappointments.
I'm not hung up about manliness, but I like to celebrate the differences between man and woman. As a fan of the work of Desmond Morris, I truly believe that sexual "equality" in the unisex tradition is false, painful and doomed to failure. Let men be men and women be women and value them equally; their strengths complement each other to make a beautiful whole.
Simon
PS. Part of me wonders how many people started getting curious about the briar after they read that. How many followed up with a trip to the tobacconist? I'll never know, but it's interesting to wonder.

i am a crabby old fart. i grew up with real men, men who smoked pipe and cigars. men who were tought when needed and tender when warented. we still open doors for ladies, pull out chairs, yes ma'am to women.
i grew up in the midwest, lived in the south and now live in california because i fell in love with a california girl. i am nothing but a stranger in a strange land, hanging on to the things i treasure, my pipes, cigars, scotch, strait razors and my sense of honor.
the whole metrosexual thing just made me misrable, like i was lieing to myself. so now i am just me, take me the way i am or go away. i am much happier and so is everyone around me.
now if ya all will excuse me, i have a date with an el rey del mundo robusto larga that has been waiting 10 years for my attention, and later my peterson with a wee dram of scotch and bowl of an english blend.