I appreciated all three articles, the one from the Washington Post, Kevin's article entitled "this isn't your grandfather's pipe," and Doc Carr's article on age and pipe smoking. In Doc Carr's article I noticed a decline in my age group (I'm 70,) but this may be due to the fact that members of my group are experiencing a general decline in numbers as our age increases. I started smoking in September 1959 and have been enjoying my pipes ever since, so being in relatively good health (except for a spinal fusion last week," I can say that 53 years of pipe smoking have had little negative effect upon my overall health. I looked at the pictures of the younger folk in Kevin's article and I recognized them: they were my contemporaries when I was an undergraduate and in my early years of pipe smoking. In those days, the University set all smoked pipes, though it was not at all something which the distaff side did. Quite frankly, I'm happy to be a pipe smoker; it's a hobby, not a habit, and I'm equally happy to see younger people taking up the hobby these days. I don't believe that they are jeopardizing their health, I don't believe that the world would be a better place pipe smoking were to disappear, and I hope that this is one hobby which continues to experience a steady growth for the pleasure and relaxed comfort it brings to its adherents. At least, that's been my experience for the past 53 years, and I would welcome anyone who wishes to share in that experience. In fact, I even had a brief Walter Mitty experience. In 1974, after I had completed my dissertation and was awaiting graduation, I went to work in the pipe shop I had been patronizing for the past several years, the Carousel in Cincinnati. It was only for a few months, but I enjoyed the experience tremendously, and got to buy a few pipes with my employee's discount, including a beautifulCaminetto Business which remains one of my favorites.
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