I found this today at The Briar Patch pipe forums
Whatever happened to the pipe?
You know...the smoking pipe.
The pipe was the ultimate manly accessory.
The pipe was different.
It was a guy thing.
Pipes demand respect. Kids didn’t steal their dads pipes’ they stole their cigarettes. Cigarettes got the rep of being the icon of rebellion and counter-culture.
Pipes had a totally different reputation.
If you had a pipe, you were intellectual. You were a thinker. You were not impulsive.
It's almost as if when asked a question, that you consulted your pipe.
It helped you bluff for a minute, while you came up with an answer.
On top of that, it helped you illustrate your answer.
You gestured with it, and it impressed everyone.
The coolest thing about the pipe was that it didn’t even have to be filled with tobacco or even lit to be cool.
Just having a pipe in your hand while you were talking automatically increased your IQ about 25 points...or seemed to.
If you had a pipe and a beard, you were infallible. The was the ultimate combo.
No wait, a beard, a pipe, and a tweed sport coat.
And a fedora or a deerstalker cap; you just can’t wear a baseball cap backwards and smoke a pipe.
You couldn’t hurry a pipe. Nobody ran out for a quick smoke. If you didn’t have 20 minutes to commit, you didn’t go out.
Pipes made men slow down a little, think and ponder about life, work, wives, children, the state of the world.
Pipes were cool.
It was the only accessory...that had its own accessories.
You had your pipe tool. The very masculine folding thing that was a combo of tamper and pipe hole clearer. Kind of the intellectual man’s version of a jack knife. If you had a pocket knife and the pipe tool, you were the master.
You had your supply of pipe cleaners, now mostly sold in Michaels Crafts Center for Sunday school crafts.
You had your pouches of various tobaccos. You had to have Cherry or you were not a real pipe guy.
You had your special lighters. Not Zippos. No way. That lighter fluid tainted your tobacco. You had to use a wooden kitchen match or butane lighter.
Pipes were work. Pipes had to be filled, tamped, coaxed to lite, nurtured, cleaned, rotated weekly.
Pipes are bridge builders.
Nobody avoids you because you smoke a pipe....not like cigars or cigarettes.
You don’t even have to inhale to enjoy it. What's not to like?
You can’t just pick up a pipe and smoke it like cigars and cigarettes. There is a learning curve. It's best when taught by an experienced pipe guy.
People hate the smell of cigars and cigarettes. But even the most militant anti-smoking people like the smell of a pipe.
Women like the smell of a pipe and always told you so. Maybe it reminded them of their Dad or something.
Pipes make you a better dad. You talk to your kids easier when you have a pipe in your hand. It doesn’t even have to be lit and they always hug you and say "That was swell, Dad"
When people think of their fathers, they always remember his pipe.
Pipes were unique and accepted in society.
Even some famous theologians and ministers smoked pipes. For some reason, it didn’t seem as evil as cigarettes.
I never wanted to hang out with people smoking cigarettes. If you hung out with pipe smokers, you became vicariously smarter. The coolness and smartness rubbed off on anyone within 10 feet.
Men even had their portraits taken with their pipes. Think about it....no other accessory made it into portraits.
In Hollywood, the pipe was a prop that made any man on film seem smarter.
Sherlock Holmes had a pipe.
Santa Claus had a pipe.
Native Americans had pipes. Pipes were associated with peace. Men talking about peace. You went to your enemy and he offered you a smoke on the pipe and everything was OK.
Charles Spurgeon had a pipe.
Hobbits smoked pipes.
General MacArthur loved his pipe. It made him a great general.
Popeye had a pipe. I want to let you in on something....It was the pipe, not the spinach.
Einstein loved his pipe.
Bing Crosby and his pipe were inseparable.
Fred MacMurray, the ultimate Dad, had a pipe.
See any trends here?
If world leaders all smoked pipes, the world may very well be a different place.