PIPE DREAMS

     "A pipe is the foundation of contemplation, the source of pleasure, the companion of the wise, and the man who smokes thinks like a philosopher and acts like a Samaritan." 
Edward George Bulwer-Lytton

     One of my last guilty pleasures in life is smoking a pipe. The only time and place I do so is at my desk at home while I am browsing online or writing. 

     I have smoked a pipe off and on since 1966 (more on than off). When I was in basic training, the PX offered a special buy containing a pipe and two pouches of tobacco, which I bought and carried in my ammo pouches during basic and AIT (11B10). My dad had always smoked a pipe, so this apple didn't fall far.

     When I lived in and around Boston, my go-to tobacconist was David P. Ehrlich. There were a few other stores, but that was my main one. If one showed up at the shop with an empty pipe, customers were allowed (and encouraged) to show up and fill the bowl with any tobacco and sample new possibilities. 

     My go to tobacco then was called Cake Box, one of their proprietary blends. Somewhere along the way, the company was sold with the new owners promising to keep the recipe and tobacco available, but it was never the same. 

     Throughout the years, I settled on and have always returned to Middleton's Cherry Blend, which became my only tobacco. I bought it locally but saw the price creeping up regularly. It was getting a bit too pricey, so I looked around and found a couple of purveyors online who would save me a good deal of money. When I stopped buying locally, I saved at least two dollars per 1.5 ounce pouch. That's significant!

     Recently, I found out that Cherry Blend has been discontinued (I have an outstanding question to the manufacturer re: whether it is temporary or permanent). When none was to be found at my usual sites, I called locally to see if there was any left over. The store had two left at $6.50 each, which I bought without comment. I had been paying less than half that online. 

     When my current stock is gone (I have three pouches left), I will try 'replacement' blends, but I doubt they will be the same; it seems they never are.

     The virus I have endured okay so far. Losing Cherry Blend, I don't know....

Smörgåsbord

     Smörgåsbord!

     What a great word! I had one particular student from probably 35 or 40 years ago, and all I remember about him is that 'smörgåsbord' was his favorite word. He used it whenever he could. He might have been ahead of his time.

     Those who know me also know that I spend too much time online, but is it truly too much? There is a wonderful quote that states."Any time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time." Way back in the day when I was working toward my master's degree, I remember proclaiming that if I could be a student for the rest of my life, I would! I love learning new 'stuff,' and for every new piece of valid information that comes into my mind, countless other pieces have to be moved around to make it fit, which intellectually results in a ripple effect. 

     In today's world, a world I never thought I'd see outside of literature or movies, there's a lot of that happening. By introducing new information, conclusions are discarded or renegotiated. The good guys maybe aren't so good, and the bad guys are maybe worse than we could ever imagine. Maybe a bad guy even becomes a good guy.

     Anyhow, I am a person with a smörgåsbord of knowledge. Unlike others, I know a little about a lot of things, but I don't know a lot about much, which is both a blessing and a curse. When I have exhausted my knowledge of something, I sit back and listen to someone who may know more, and the reshuffling on information begins - new ideas are formed while old ideas may be discarded. 

     The most dangerous people are those with limited 'knowledge' - Pope's 'A little learning is a dangerous thing' or Heinlein's 'Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.' If people have limited knowledge/intelligence, they need to understand their limit of knowledge is not surrounded by an impervious wall. It should be just the opposite - that's what learning and growth are all about.

     People need to watch, listen, and read beyond their mental limited mental fortresses and move the pieces.

     "It's what you learn after you know it all that counts" (John Wooden). 

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION....

I love stage plays! Whenever I had the chance and could afford to go, I would. 

In high school, I had a small part in our school play, which made it to the New Englands (I think); we performed at John Hancock Hall in Boston and lost to "Spoon River Anthology." 
    
Back in a former life, I remember going to Portsmouth, NH, to see a play called "The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds." The one moment I most remember was the meet-and-greet. I found the actress who played Beatrice, the horrible mother, and took her by the hand, looked her in the eyes, and said, "I so hated you!" She replied, "Thank you; that's the best compliment I could receive." She was actually a nice lady.

I thought about this with the recent passing of Brian Dennehy. An actor brings to a life a character created by a writer/playwright. We tend to forget that the part we see is not necessarily the actor's real persona, but an interpretation and creation s/he has brought to reality. When we forget we are watching an actor but a character, that character becomes real through our willing suspension of disbelief. 

The thing is, though, these created characters are reflections of real life (maybe even bigger) - the good, the bad, and the ugly. There are real-life Sheriff Teasels, Hannibal Lecters, Nurse Ratcheds, and Beatrice Hunsdorfers (and on the other hand - Jean Valjeaans, Randle P. McMurphys, Dororthy Gales, and Forrest Gumps), and the rest of us have to deal with them, 

We are all really actors, unfortunately, we have no script to read to answer comments or respond to sometimes horrible actions - we're on our own. We create and develop our own characters and respond and act as we think we should. Some of us are complex, deep characters, while others are one-dimensional stereotypes.

How many times have we thought to ourselves after a conflict, "I should have said...."? By doing so, we should have learned something and grown (even a little bit) so that the next time we may do better. The media suggest so many things can be solved and resolved in an hour or two. Real life? Not so much.

When I was in the classroom, every quote, poem, short story, play, novel and movie had a purpose to help students sort out good qualities in people (Atticus Finch) and not-so-good qualities (Bob Ewell). When students understood whose character was desirable and whose was not, in theory, that should get them to decide who they would rather be like. 

I can only hope sometimes I was successful.

1649

     So a recent Facebook post garnered some 121 mostly charged comments with the action fast and furious. Here, I only have a few followers so far. As a result, my numbers remain fairly steady here. On Facebook, I lost two 'friends' but coincidentally picked up three other people for a net gain of one - woo-hoo!

     In my last post, I couldn't understand why people cant see who and what he is, and that is truly disturbing. It's no longer right and left - it's right and wrong. I have to question the character of his supporters. Are they as disturbed as he is? Every time he says or does something that shocks me and should in itself be grounds for removal, nothing - crickets from his base. I casually started collecting links to some of his failings - I am up to 21 pages!

     During the fray, I asked a couple of his supporters if they thought he is a liar. Two particular responses: (1) "They all lie." (2) "No."

     My current feeling is Harry Truman was right about where the buck stops. I also believe (1) tRump is fully responsible for the current destruction of our once-wonderful country, and (2) if you still support tRump, you are complicit! 

     I pray for the people of the country and know that history will not be kind to 'the stable genius' that knows more about everything than anyone.

     I really don't swear, so I will stop there for now.