It started late last night after a busy day. Everyone went to bed but one of my favorite movies was just coming on. The pipes were freshly cleaned and I figured after this long day I'd finally crack that tin of Sherlock Holmes I'd been curious about but waiting until I finished some other tobaccos I was trying. I brewed some Earl Grey, cracked open the tin, and packed my pipe. Oooh it was heaven and the flavor of the tea and tobacco matched perfectly. It was just one perfect smoke. What a great end to a night.
I woke up today and went to work still tired from yesterday. So, I decided I'd make it a half day and have lunch with the folks and drove an hour to the town I grew up in joyfully puffing and listening to the Pipes Magazine podcast (a top notch program!). After a good lunch I figured I'd go see the tobacconist that used to kick me out of his store when I was 16 and I'd send my of-age friends to buy me Davidoff cigarettes because... well... They're great. Since I got back into piping, he and I have enjoyed reconnecting. I call him the Wizard because he knows everything! I told him the next time I came in he wasn't allowed to sell me tobacco unless I bought another pipe from him. As I walked in his face lit up and he exclaimed "Pastor!" (I'm a minister... A Presbyterian one... He loves selling me the Presby Mix and I love smoking it). Here, he had personally picked a pipe for me, waited the month or so before I had come back in, sold it to me at cost, and gave me a blend for free that he thought would break it in nicely. Man, you can't beat Brick and Mortars. You form a bond and a relationship. He read me to a tee with the pipe. We looked at the super expensive ones and drooled about one day. We discussed what we were smoking and exchanged stories. We talked about life and smoking. And I got to go home with a wonderful and huge pipe :lol: and a really nice smoke to break it in with.
It really has been the best 24 hours; the kind you dream of. Everything just clicked.
Sorry for the long post but I just had to share because it meant a lot to me and this forum is beginning to mean a lot to me. We belong to a wonderful community, us pipe smokers. One I feel privileged to be a part of and share.
I woke up today and went to work still tired from yesterday. So, I decided I'd make it a half day and have lunch with the folks and drove an hour to the town I grew up in joyfully puffing and listening to the Pipes Magazine podcast (a top notch program!). After a good lunch I figured I'd go see the tobacconist that used to kick me out of his store when I was 16 and I'd send my of-age friends to buy me Davidoff cigarettes because... well... They're great. Since I got back into piping, he and I have enjoyed reconnecting. I call him the Wizard because he knows everything! I told him the next time I came in he wasn't allowed to sell me tobacco unless I bought another pipe from him. As I walked in his face lit up and he exclaimed "Pastor!" (I'm a minister... A Presbyterian one... He loves selling me the Presby Mix and I love smoking it). Here, he had personally picked a pipe for me, waited the month or so before I had come back in, sold it to me at cost, and gave me a blend for free that he thought would break it in nicely. Man, you can't beat Brick and Mortars. You form a bond and a relationship. He read me to a tee with the pipe. We looked at the super expensive ones and drooled about one day. We discussed what we were smoking and exchanged stories. We talked about life and smoking. And I got to go home with a wonderful and huge pipe :lol: and a really nice smoke to break it in with.
It really has been the best 24 hours; the kind you dream of. Everything just clicked.
Sorry for the long post but I just had to share because it meant a lot to me and this forum is beginning to mean a lot to me. We belong to a wonderful community, us pipe smokers. One I feel privileged to be a part of and share.
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