A Woman Pipe Smoker

In October of 2016 I took the notion that I wanted to smoke a pipe.  Why? Not an easy question to answer.  I had inherited a portrait of a distant grandmother because I was named after her. That portrait is infamous in our family because it as known as "The Lady with the Pipe."  Yes, Granny is holding a clay pipe up to her mouth.  It must have been very characteristic of her.  This is her legacy.  Being named after her, it did put the thought in my head, maybe I should smoke a pipe too.  Another contributing factor is that I'm now an empty-nester and maybe it's a touch of "mid-life crisis."  I've never really been "normal" or blended in, but never really stood out either.  I guess this is my act of daring, of proving myself to be the eccentric I was labelled as.  It is a way to stand out as an individual.

Other than a co-worker of my father's thirty years ago, I haven't known anyone who smokes a pipe.  I had to muddle through on my own.  Pipes can be expensive, and when you are starting out, it's best to start out with something you consider a "trainer."  Expect to ruin it.  I picked up a Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipe (Legend) at a drug store. $7.  Then I got online and looked for a pipe smoking group.  They were extremely helpful.  On their advice I picked up Carter Hall pipe tobacco.  My first pipe smoke was very successful, but I think that was largely due to the fact that I read a lot, I asked a lot of questions, and I took it slowly.

 

 

I used just a few matches, and that was all the ash that was left in my pipe.  My next pipe was not quite so successful.  Everyone has hits and misses.

 

Since that time, though, I've been hooked.  The journey is just beginning.