I hope that we, the pipe community, bares the brunt of the sadness in losing McClellands, and I wish Mike and Mary a happy retirement, change of course, or new ventures.
When I think of McClellands, I think of that blue whale on their label that their father's father seen on that voyage to the new world full of hope, possibilities, and promise of fantastic new adventures. Pipe smokers are as rare as those beautiful large ocean mammals, and in a way we are just as endangered. We think (some of us anyways) as deep as the deepest seas, and we blow our smoke in joyous reverie for one more dive, taking pleasure in the act of being alive.
Cheers Mike and Mary, may your challenges make you strong, and your paths be paved in merriment. Thank you, thank you, for showing the world what can be done with the wholesome Virginia plant, showing us a flavor for what could be, that no one else imagined. And, thank you for giving us pleasures on the tongue that no one else ever thought possible. You are artists, poets of the leaf, and alchemists who have created never before tasted experiences on the tongue and goodness in the heart. Thank you.