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....