[Tirned Tinnu]

Who didn't have a grandfather or uncle who smoked a pipe, years ago? I did, Grandpa never went anywhere without it. His thumb was stained from years of tamping down tobacco into various lovely wooden pipes, all of which had a magical feel to them, as if they were alive.

Grandpa started smoking a pipe because his doctor said that Cigar smoking would kill him. When one smokes a pipe, one rarely inhales the smoke. If you did, you would get very sick to your stomach! So, it spares your lungs. However, it causes tounge and mouth cancer...but my Grandfather didn't worry about that. He was 83 when he died; and he probably died more from being overweight than from smoking.
The more interesting thing is that in my father's family, the men and women are very gentle. No yelling, no stress, just calm people whatever the situation. Sure, they looked worried and knew how to explain it - that is curious - because...it appears that they have a reward for it. None of my father's family has ever suffered cancer or been in the hospital for anything. They die in their sleep, in comfort, and seemingly, when they desire to. Sometimes I feel that I might be graced with this "gift" of passing on when I choose to die.
I pray that smokers curb their puffing, myself included! And that none of us or our families ever have to suffer the horrors of cancer.
I love pipe smoking...on a winter's day...it is more ritualistic than cigarette smoking. You must choose a pipe, choose your tobacco, tamp it in, and light it. This can take up to an hour if you're being choosy. Unlike ciggs, where you grab one and light it, pipe smoking calms you, even before the first puff. It's one of the things that makes me crazy when Medieval camping. They had no tobacco in Medieval times! I have to wait for an English Civil War encampment to smoke my little clay pipe. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]