Happy New Year dear readers! Let’s be honest, last year was a rough one. I don’t think I’ll ever forget a year like 2020. Crazy viruses, turmoil on the streets, ever increasingly divisive politics, and that’s not even getting into my personal life. I ended up leaving my job after taking on a position that wasn’t the right fit, and experienced fatherhood for the first time with the birth of my son. Here’s hoping that the new year of 2021 will bring some stability back into our liv—
What? It’s 2022, not 2021? Surely that can’t be right?
Yes, unfortunately 2021 came and went, and with it radio silence on my part. No, I hadn’t given up on pipe smoking; far from it, I can assure you. I had about one or two blog entries mostly written, as well as a hope to write more pipe tobacco reviews, but I kinda lost my focus due to multiple reasons.
First, 2021 wasn’t a fun year. I found myself discouraged and frustrated due to things outside of my control. I paid a little too much attention to national news, and it left me despondent and depressed at various points, even from the very beginning. Add some family drama with said news, and I found my creative juices drained.
On the other hand, 2021 was my first full year as a dad. While this experience has been absolutely rewarding, it also takes up a good portion of my day. I thought being a stay at home dad would give me more free time to do the things I love, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Don’t get me wrong, I couldn’t be happier with life as a father, but it truly is a full time job and then some. I often don’t finish my responsibilities until midnight, which doesn’t leave much time to write and enjoy a pipe.
On top of all of these obstacles, I added a new pursuit in my life, and a loud one at that. I imagine when one becomes a new father that most men wouldn’t dream of learning how to play the bagpipes, yet that’s what I found myself compelled into pursuing. While some would call it madness, I’m pleased to report that my new piping hobby is going quite well. I purchased a set of bagpipes back in March of last year, and I’ve been having a blast. I’ve made new friends, played in front of others, and have grown in my own confidence. However, with learning an instrument comes rigorous practice, and while I don’t spend quite as much time as I’d like doing so, I find myself getting out later and later in the evening. I consider myself lucky that I’m a stay at home dad at the moment, or I don’t know how I’d fit it all in the schedule.
At times I feel as though I’m a Stretch Armstrong toy, with my body and mind pulled in various directions. I find myself wishing I had more time in the day to do other things I’d like to do. I’ve mostly set aside playing video games, which I’m sure some would say is a good thing, and I can’t remember the last time I read a book cover to cover. Even this blog has sadly developed some cobwebs over the past year. Luckily, I had the good Sgt. MacBadger take care of all the creepy crawlies that made their home here, sans flamethrower, much to his objections. The blog is back in business for your reading pleasure.
If I’ve learned anything from the past year that I’d like to cover, it’s how much I’ve come to appreciate these quiet moments of solitude within my smoking area, or as I prefer to call it, my pipe sanctuary. While it is true that having a study inside my home would be preferable during extreme weather, I’m very happy going outside to enjoy my pipes, undisturbed inside my garage, surrounded by a fragrant cloud of pipe smoke. Here, I can puff away while puttering around with no one to disturb me— no dog to bark at me because I smell different, no cat to cry outside my door until I let him inside, and a reprieve from baby monitor duty. All is calm and quiet within my little kingdom, accompanied by only the sounds of crackling tobacco, and the music from my headphones.
Granted, there are some drawbacks to being relegated to my garage besides the sweltering heat of summer and the bitter chill of winter. I’ve been out here during some nasty thunderstorms that rattle the roof above me. Thankfully, my garage is far from any large trees that could come down through the ceiling, so I don’t have to worry about that. I’m glad I have yet to deal with a tornado warning out here, as that’s when I’d need to make a daring escape back into the house and down to the basement. I’d rather not experience living through a disaster movie and risk my pipes being damaged— and I guess having my life at risk, too.
I’ve also experienced the fun of encountering wildlife on occasions. Once, while walking back to the house, I spotted a raccoon between my garage and house. While I’m sure it posed no threat to me, regardless I sped back into the garage and waited a few minutes for it to wander somewhere else. I also on occasion hear them rummage through my recycling bin, chittering away as it looked for anything salvageable. While it doesn’t leave me shaking in my boots, it’s a good reminder that no matter how quiet it seems, I’m not alone out here.
The most common confrontation I have out in my sanctuary comes from our eight legged friends. I’ll be typing away on my computer (or watching something) when out of the corner of my eye I’ll see one descend from the ceiling to eye level. Often, I’ll simply grab the spider string with my hand and deposit the arachnid somewhere out of range. Other times, I’ll watch a wolf spider scurry across the floor nearby. If it’s a big one, I’ll go ahead and introduce it to my boot, but otherwise I’ll let it be. I did have one encounter with a rather large and scary looking one. That was a battle for the ages, involving spider spray (it didn’t work), and a mallet. I do spray periodically through the spring and fall, and I make it a point to wear pants even in the hottest months of summer just to be safe.
Despite these minor inconveniences, I’m quite happy out here in my little getaway. Of course, with the season being winter as I write this, a cozy study sounds quite inviting compared to subjecting myself to brutal cold. Instead of being envious of my friends with indoor smoking dens, I consider myself blessed. I could live somewhere like an apartment that offers no comfortable space to enjoy my pipe. I think back to some of the places I’ve lived at, and it would’ve been difficult to enjoy a briar there. I definitely don’t take my sanctuary for granted.
Living in this era of anti-smoking, I do look back fondly when watching movies or shows that depict characters smoking in their living rooms. Now I grew up in the 80’s and 90’s, so I distinctly remember constantly being exposed to cigarette smoke. That, I don’t miss one bit, especially when it comes to eating at restaurants. I might be in the minority of my readers on that point, but I don’t think I’d smoke my pipe after dinner at a restaurant.
Still, there’s that part of me that wishes for a more idyllic time that I see in those old movies and shows, akin to classics like Leave It To Beaver, Dennis the Menace, and so on. I’ve always admired the traditional pipe smoking father/husband, before men in sitcoms and shows lost their intelligence and were relegated to being the buffoon. I can imagine myself coming home from the train, taking off my fedora and trench coat, don my cardigan sweater, and relax in a comfy living room chair. I’d be presented with my slippers, a newspaper, and trusty pipe for a relaxing evening. From my chair, I could dispense my fatherly wisdom while puffing my straight briar pipe, content as can be. While I’d have to get used to living in black and white, I think I’d adjust eventually.
Until next time, happy puffing friends,
-TheBadgerPiper
thebadgerpiper 