Was watching an episode of MASH last night, and Col. Potter handed Radar a cigar and Radar asked 'Is it habit forming?' and Potter responds 'Son, I've been smoking 5 cigars a day for 45 years and never got the habit' to which Radar responds 'that's good to know'.
It got me thinking about how much of my pipe and cigar smoking (30 years now) is attributable to habit or hobby? Before this I smoked cigarettes, but hated them...I smoked them more out of peer pressure than anything. To me, though, cigarette smoking is more of an addiction, and I don't want to go there in this post.
Let me give my definition of habit versus hobby so people can respond:
To me, a habit is something that I do without thinking about it. Sometimes I'll feel for my pipe in my pocket but not pull it out...I do this out of habit. Sometimes after smoking half a Griffen, I'll put it back in its tube and twirl the tube around in my fingers...out of habit. That sort of thing.
On the other hand, hobby is something you do because it's interesting to you and you do it consciously.
So how much do I smoke pipes out of habit and/or hobby?
Well, I'm a late day smoker, and I find that I habitually grab my pipe around the 3 to 4 pm time frame without knowing I'm doing it (habit). On the other hand, the one thing I really look forward to is choosing a tobacco out of my rotation of about 15 different tobaccos, and matching it to my mood that day...or even blending two or three of the 15 together in an effort to experiment with different flavors (hobby).
If I had to guess, I smoke a pipe out of habit with a weight of 40% and out of hobby 60%...how about you? What would your percentages be? Also, if you have some more waxing (or again, waning is probably a better word) philosophy, don't hesitate to add to this...
It got me thinking about how much of my pipe and cigar smoking (30 years now) is attributable to habit or hobby? Before this I smoked cigarettes, but hated them...I smoked them more out of peer pressure than anything. To me, though, cigarette smoking is more of an addiction, and I don't want to go there in this post.
Let me give my definition of habit versus hobby so people can respond:
To me, a habit is something that I do without thinking about it. Sometimes I'll feel for my pipe in my pocket but not pull it out...I do this out of habit. Sometimes after smoking half a Griffen, I'll put it back in its tube and twirl the tube around in my fingers...out of habit. That sort of thing.
On the other hand, hobby is something you do because it's interesting to you and you do it consciously.
So how much do I smoke pipes out of habit and/or hobby?
Well, I'm a late day smoker, and I find that I habitually grab my pipe around the 3 to 4 pm time frame without knowing I'm doing it (habit). On the other hand, the one thing I really look forward to is choosing a tobacco out of my rotation of about 15 different tobaccos, and matching it to my mood that day...or even blending two or three of the 15 together in an effort to experiment with different flavors (hobby).
If I had to guess, I smoke a pipe out of habit with a weight of 40% and out of hobby 60%...how about you? What would your percentages be? Also, if you have some more waxing (or again, waning is probably a better word) philosophy, don't hesitate to add to this...