Today was an unseasonably warm day for Indiana. So I donned a flat cap, a waistcoat, my blackthorn, and a book. On my way out I grabbed a pipe and my roll up pouch akin with my favorite book. While sitting at the park enjoying a smoke and my book an older gentleman wandered up and sat next to me. He looked at me and stated "Damn fine day to enjoy a pipe outside!" I stated that I agreed and we continued with small talk about the weather. During this time he kept eyeing my pipe and I could read sadness in his eyes as clear as the page of my book. I finally asked if he smoked a pipe. He said he did but he had lost all his pipes in a house fire last year and couldn't find any in our area to replace them. I was recently gifted a Peterson standard 303 by a member here. I remembered it had cleaned it two days ago and placed it in my peacoat in the car. I politely asked him to wait a second and retrieved it. I gave him that 303 and he began to tear up stating "Son men like you don't exist anymore." I told him we do just look for men that have a pipe in there hand. I gave him my roll up pouch full of tobacco and my Czech tool and bid him goodbye. Now I am above all a Peterson fan and wouldn't have come off my Peterson unless I knew it would go to a good home. Being I only had 4 Pete's I will miss that 303 but it was damn sure worth it.
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