Great picture, thanks for sharing. My grandfather smoked a pipe occasionally. I don't have any pictures with a pipe but a lot of pictures with a cigar.
Burley always roughs up my mouth a little. With the exception of Semois. I do enjoy a good burley blend, I just have to limit what, when, and how much I smoke it.
That doesn't sound like Walt. I'd reach out to him. Maybe he thought you wanted your money back and not the pipe. Maybe it will take longer than a week.
I'm an Escudo fan and agree that 2008 and earlier are the better years for Escudo. The new stuff is good but not what it used to be. I like the new stuff after it's been stoved much better than fresh.