This thing of ours, this pipe passion, and tobacco zeal are quite extraordinary. And why is our pleasure so special? Oh, let me count the ways. Pipes and tobacco connect us not only to history but also to the very Earth we inhabit. Briar and tobacco leaf originate and grow from the soil, of course, …

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Literature and history have always been a part of my life. I enjoy reading and have always been fascinated by American and world events and history. And this rich vein of discovery has led me to the great literary and historical figures who were pipe smokers. As you in Pipe World know, there are just …

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The older one grows, the more one likes indecency—Virginia Woolf Lately, I’ve been on a Virginia Woolf reading binge. It’s been an assignment my daughters have given me, to, uhm, broaden my literary horizons. And I’ve been surprised a bit. I must have missed Woolf in my college English Lit days. I was too caught …

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A new year and a brand new canvas! Thank goodness. It is time to move on and look toward a brighter time. And with that, how about some New Pipe Year Resolutions straight from the Pundit Resolute Desk! Although these are Pundit Resolutions for the New Pipe Year, feel free to claim as your own …

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Yes, dear reader, the Pundit has lost it! Blame it on lingering aftershocks of Thanksgiving stupor. Too much turkey and dressing, mashed potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce, cornbread, green beans, and the whole Thanksgiving-Christmas continuum overload. And, yes, the Pundit has purchased, yet another, Peterson Christmas pipe, or two, to prove the Pundit always practices what …

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Now that we have concluded America’s pressing business, well, so to speak, it’s time to move on to more important events. Such as, there is not much time left for two big tent occurrences: Thanksgiving and Christmas shopping. For us pipe smokers, a month or two is a blink in time. See, we put in …

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Okay, so the world is coming to an end! Do not panic. Remember, this the “howling month” of Halloween. Do not despair. The Pundit says “supposed” final endings are passing fads, they come, and they fade away. Nothing to fret over. Just get out your pipe and favorite tobacco, fill up a bowl, light, and …

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September is always a good time to think about what’s next. Such as the end of summer, the start of fall, and football, maybe? There is always hope. I know, that’s too Pollyanna for most tough guy pipe smokers. But maybe we need more hope and less reality now. Or something. Our pipes and tobacco …

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Remember the annals of a former time in the pipe world? An era when the old wood meant grabbing a beautiful smoking pipe off the rack or reaching for a basket pipe on the counter in your favorite brick-and-mortar shop and taking it home to break it in for future smokes? Yes, the good days. …

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Now that we are in the month of America’s independence, our national holiday celebrated, of course, July 4th each year, requires a moment of reflection. America’s founding fathers were pipe smokers and planters of tobacco. By the time of the nation’s independence and the signing of the Declaration of Independence, tobacco was an integral cash …

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