Well, it's taken a long time to get around to this, writing a blog...and the first thing I have to do is make a confession...I'm a smoker...I love the taste of tobacco...I'm into sensory input and I enjoy strong flavors...black coffee...tea with no lemon, or sugar, or milk...extra sharp cheddar cheese...dark, dark chocolate...the sharper and stronger the better...so yeah, I choose to be a smoker, however, in making a choice such as this (and it is my choice, regardless of what all the anti-smoking nazi's have to say about it), I choose to not inhale (hell, Clinton got away with that one, and that was pot), so I smoke cigars and pipes, and that's what this blog is gonna be about, more or less...that, and anything else I happen to think of...but mostly it's gonna be about cigars and pipes and pipe tobacco...but, ummm, it might get a little political too along the way, just a little...and wait until you hear my take on the feds banning online poker, and what my city council has to say about feeding the ducks that roam around down here, in South Florida...but I'm gonna save those for another time. Ya see, last I heard, tobacco is still a legal product in the good old USA...as far as all the laws banning smoking all over the country, they're taking my freedom away, as they've taken away the freedoms of all of us over the last few decades...they're trying to legislate away my right to enjoy a legal product...they, is the government at all levels, city, state, and federal...think back about twenty or thirty years and think of all the laws and restrictions that have been imposed upon us over that period of time...one needs only look at airline travel as a glaring example...and yes, I believe that the non-smokers have a right to not smell my smoke, so I'm a courteous smoker...if it's bothering someone and they're polite about it, I'll move away...if they approach me and act like an ass, then they take their own chances...and I've read all the B.S. about second-hand and third-hand smoke...third-hand smoke? You gotta be kidding. None of it has ever been scientifically proven, except that it's pretty clear that cigarettes kill...of course, they're loaded with about 200 additives that should be outlawed, but that's the fault of our fine federal government for letting the tobacco companies get away with it for about a century or so...they do it to addict you...no additives in cigars...just pure tobacco leaf...pretty much the same with pipe tobacco...I'm not addicted to pipes or cigars...I smoke them when and if I want to...too hot to go out today? Okay, I skip the smoke. I might smoke one or two bowlfuls of tobacco a day in one of my pipes, or a cigar or two, and some days nothing at all...it's all for my own enjoyment, on my own time, and if I don't smoke I don't go into withdrawal like the addicted cigarette smokers do...and, cigarettes stink...even to me...the aroma of a fine cigar or some premium pipe tobacco? Well, that's a whole different story. And my significant other, Marie, likes the smell of my pipes and cigars, and occasionally sits down and enjoys a cigar with me...ain't I a lucky guy?
This is one of my hobbies, and I'm a member of a couple of online forums, Smokers Forums, a great place to learn about and enjoy discussing pipes and pipe tobaccos, and Cigar Asylum where the lunatics run the joint (nah, not really, but the moderators are great guys)...I don't know how frequent or infrequent these posts are gonna be, and I think for now I'm gonna allow comments on my verbiage, as long as it's polite and you don't use nasty language...you wouldn't do that, would you? I'm sure this blog will change quite a bit along the way, as I've got a lot to learn about blogging...hell, learning anything new at my age is a challenge...and speaking of age, I've got a birthday coming up in the next few months so I have a burning question I need to ask you...will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm 64?
Next: Pipe Smoking - Getting Started
