SMOKE GETS IN YOUR... WALLET!?

"A pipe gives a wise man time to think and a fool something to stick in his mouth." Trischmann's Paradox.

My one (and probably last) guilty pleasure is sitting in front of my laptop at my desk smoking my pipe. Smoking a pipe is nothing new for me. During my basic training in the mid-60s, one of my ammo pouches carried a package of tobacco, a pipe, pipe cleaners, a reamer, and matches (the other carried a book).

I know; I know. I fully understand smoking my pipe is not good for me, but it is a risk I am willing to take. While not good for me, I believe it is still better than cigarettes. I never tried cigarettes - I was so against cigarettes that a few 'friends' once jumped me after school, got me on the ground, held me down, stuck a cigarette in my mouth, and tried to make me smoke it. I didn't.

I did try cigars on occasion, but that was short lived. A pipe has been my nearly constant companion.

Through the years, I have tried a lot of different pipe tobaccos and enjoyed many of them, but one called Middleton's Cherry Blend is the one that emerged as my go-to. Back around 1970, pipe maker and tobacconist David P. Ehrlich offered a blend called Cake Box, a close second, but when the manufacturer stopped making it and sold the recipe, it was never the same.

Middleton's Cherry Blend, however, disappeared suddenly a few years ago. I have searched and searched for it and just found three 1.5-ounce packs in Vermont, but apparently Vermont has tacked on a 92% tax, making each package just about $10. Nope, not worth it - there is a limit. (Along the way, I also found that NH had tacked on a 65.03% tax). My current blends are getting my by okay.

“The fact is, Squire, the moment a man takes to a pipe, he becomes a philosopher. It’s the poor man’s friend; it calms the mind, soothes the temper, and makes a man patient under difficulties. It has made more good men, good husbands, kind masters, indulgent fathers, than any other blessed thing on this universal earth.” ”Sam Slick, The Clockmaker”

IT'S HAPPENING AGAIN!

Stop the search parties; call off the dogs; take my picture down from telephone poles across the nation and the side of milk cartons! I am still here. I would love to scream, "Don't pay the ransom - I escaped!"

But, the truth is: time has become distorted. It's Monday. I blink and it's Thursday. And I blink again, and it's the next Thursday. Or no matter how many times I blink, it's still Tuesday - the same Tuesday.

Anyhow, it has been over a month since my last visit here (no applause, please), and I figure I should say something!

"Something!"

There!

One problem is that without regular change, everything stays the same. Most thoughts I have are stuck in an apparently endless loop. There are two things that dominate my life now (and for the past eight months or so). They are the same things that I have written about earlier.

First is the tRump pandemic. Just under half of America still sees absolutely no problem there. In an earlier post, I mused whether 145,923 is a large number. That was back in May, sometime after their lord and savior assured his minions it would disappear after 15 deaths or so, and kept saying it would just disappear, and here we are today with half a million fellow citizens dead! It will continue to get much worse before it gets better. (Yes, there is a vaccine on the horizon, which eventually should make a difference! [Now, if science worked as hard to find a cure for cancer....])

The other issue is the ongoing worship of lack of character, morals, decency, intelligence, etc., etc. by the same just under half of America. That is another whole thing, but for now, that's it.

Stay safe and stay well!

(p.s. If there is a topic you would like to see, please just ask!)