I have thought long and hard about making this post. I have resisted up until now for two reasons; first I did not want to appear insensitive to those who lost someone to a tobacco related illness, and second I didn't want to appear flippant about the risks associated with tobacco use. Please understand I mean no disrespect or to minimize your loss in any way. Our life experiences can profoundly affect our point of view, and I think I should share some of mine. One last thing before I begin in earnest- I do not encourage or advocate in any way that anyone begin a cigarette habit. I know what that is and wouldn't wish it on anyone.
This thread has seemed to transcend a young mans interest in pipe smoking, and devolved into a general discussion on tobacco use. For my purposes I intend to limit the relevance of my opinions and experiences to pipe smoking and occasional use of a cigar. Many have suggested that if you can enjoy a pipe you must not fully appreciate an early or painful death. I have seen enough. I have watched loved ones die slowly of cancer. None of them were tobacco users, not one. I have seen brilliant minds become so feeble as to not recognize their own children, or to publicly do some very shocking things while in the throws of dementia. I have seen people close to me who have done everything "right" just plain ol' die. One was a family friend she was very careful about what she ate, the products she used, exercised regularly to stay in good condition. She died in her early 50's of a hart attack. I suppose it was just her time, that's what everybody kept saying anyway. As a teenager I watched a friend die bloody and mangled on the side of a dark county road. Nobody was drunk, drugs were not involved.
I've seen a great deal more regarding man's inhumanity to man than the benign passing of those mentioned above. Don't tell me, "if you only knew....", "if you ever saw...". Really, just don't. I understand, I really really do.
I hope everyone reading this lives to a ripe old age, in full command of their faculties, and just winks out one night in their sleep secure in the love of their family, and their friends, and their God. But most of us are not going to be that fortunate. Death will come for each of us and it is unlikely to be kind. But the question at the hart of the matter is not one of death but of life and what we do with it. The short answer, to my mind, is to value it. Many seem to express that value by focusing on their health and physical well-being to the exclusion of other choices. If that brings satisfaction, than it is right and good for the individual. And one would expect them to advocate a lifestyle that they enjoy. I for one have made a different choice. I prepare every meal as richly and as elegantly as I can comfortably afford. And I share it along with the best wine and spirits I have when ever I am fortunate enough to have guests. I laugh loudly and often, to point of distraction in others sometimes. I enjoy my pipe most evenings. Am I shortening my life? Perhaps, although statistically unlikely. When I meet God I'll ask Him, until then I intend to grow as old as I can sitting in front of the fire with a warm briar in one hand and a good book in the other.
This thread has seemed to transcend a young mans interest in pipe smoking, and devolved into a general discussion on tobacco use. For my purposes I intend to limit the relevance of my opinions and experiences to pipe smoking and occasional use of a cigar. Many have suggested that if you can enjoy a pipe you must not fully appreciate an early or painful death. I have seen enough. I have watched loved ones die slowly of cancer. None of them were tobacco users, not one. I have seen brilliant minds become so feeble as to not recognize their own children, or to publicly do some very shocking things while in the throws of dementia. I have seen people close to me who have done everything "right" just plain ol' die. One was a family friend she was very careful about what she ate, the products she used, exercised regularly to stay in good condition. She died in her early 50's of a hart attack. I suppose it was just her time, that's what everybody kept saying anyway. As a teenager I watched a friend die bloody and mangled on the side of a dark county road. Nobody was drunk, drugs were not involved.
I've seen a great deal more regarding man's inhumanity to man than the benign passing of those mentioned above. Don't tell me, "if you only knew....", "if you ever saw...". Really, just don't. I understand, I really really do.
I hope everyone reading this lives to a ripe old age, in full command of their faculties, and just winks out one night in their sleep secure in the love of their family, and their friends, and their God. But most of us are not going to be that fortunate. Death will come for each of us and it is unlikely to be kind. But the question at the hart of the matter is not one of death but of life and what we do with it. The short answer, to my mind, is to value it. Many seem to express that value by focusing on their health and physical well-being to the exclusion of other choices. If that brings satisfaction, than it is right and good for the individual. And one would expect them to advocate a lifestyle that they enjoy. I for one have made a different choice. I prepare every meal as richly and as elegantly as I can comfortably afford. And I share it along with the best wine and spirits I have when ever I am fortunate enough to have guests. I laugh loudly and often, to point of distraction in others sometimes. I enjoy my pipe most evenings. Am I shortening my life? Perhaps, although statistically unlikely. When I meet God I'll ask Him, until then I intend to grow as old as I can sitting in front of the fire with a warm briar in one hand and a good book in the other.
