That's great! Although there is certainly some levity in your story, you probably saved him from an uncomfortable experience.Speaking of commitment... or the lack there of.
I recently had a visit from a cousin of mine. Now, this guy is quite a piece of work. He holds a doctorate from an ivy league university and is now a professor at another and has won every prize and award there is in his field. If you were to look on a list of the worlds greatest mathematicians, you would find his name. You get the idea, a genius in spades. ( why didn't I get some of those brains? life is unfair.)
Anyway, he is a big admirer of Einstein and when we were in my office he noticed all the pipes and said that if Einstein smoked one there must be something to it. He is a non smoker. He then asked if he could smoke one of mine. I hesitated for a moment and then told him I didn't think it was a good idea and he wondered why not. I then asked him if he know how to play the violin and, as I knew he would, he said "no". Then I asked him if on hearing the Beethoven Violin Concerto, he would ask the violinist to borrow his instrument so he could play the concerto too. Again, no. I then explained that if he wanted to learn to smoke a pipe I would be happy to teach him, but I would need a few days to do it properly. He needed to make a commitment to do it right. I also told him that if he tried right now he would likely make himself sick. He still has never smoked a pipe.
I only wish I would have been offered a few days of mentoring when I started. Although the event wasn't necessarily catastrophic, I'm quite sure I would have appreciated the opportunity to listen, watch and learn in the company of an experienced hobbyist. Hopefully he will take you up on that at some point.
Yours was a generous offer, sir.
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