It seems a bit traditional to mark these milestones on here so here it is. I joined PM as a pipe smoking newb. I had a couple of pipes from my time in Ukraine and had bought and then resold a few old Kaywoodies not knowing that you can clean that green crap off. If I had found PM only a month sooner I would still have those babies fully restored. This place revolutionized the way I saw pipes and tobacco and I learned so very much. I met a group of people who really care about each other and cared about me. Guys like Cigarmaster sent me samples of Virginias and rocked my smoking world. My cellar now reflects much of his advice. I learned how to restore pipes from the likes of Ed James and others and before long was buying, restoring, and selling to pay for my now very passionate hobby as well as picking up some beautiful estates for myself along the way. Beyond all of that I have made some life long friends in men like Bradley and Simon but there are many others. Vorhees, politicalmonster, and I have an annual road trip to The Briary's event which is a blast, we all met through PM. And through the generosity of so many I not only have a beautiful pipe collection, but have been able to travel to pipe shows and meet the likes of Kevin and Russ as well as many of you. I have found community here and experienced generosity that seems to be a fleeting thing in most of the rest of the world and because of this place and all of you I try to do my part to keep it alive and thriving so that young pipe smokers will have the same experience that I have had and hopefully it will not just affect their pipe smokinig experience for the better, but every aspect of their lives. I met Kevin in Chicago and thanked him for such a great site, but I say it here again, thanks! And a big thanks to you my brothers of the briar for expanding my boundaries in every area of our hobby and changing my life for the better. It is amazing what a piece of wood and some leaf can do especially in the midst of so great a group of men and women. I will be smoking a pipe later this evening but not to celebrate 3000 posts, but rather all of you my friends. Thanks for the time, the reads, the knowledge, the generosity, and the friendship.
I wish I could have the same feelings and experiences when I hit the 3000!) :puffpipe:
