Happy Holidays 2020

It is the morning of Christmas Eve 2020, and once again there is hot coffee, a pipe, and time for shared reflections. This year I am smoking some vintage (2005) #10 Downing Street in my Briar Spirit bent Dublin (at least I call it a bent Dublin). I’m finding that aged Latakia takes me back to the days when I only smoked English blends and never found the Latakia to be sharp or sour. But the next bowl will surly be Haunted Bookshop.

So this has been the sort of year where there are things that just have to be recognized in this sort of a letter. There have been challenges for sure, some of them global in scope for the first time in most of our lives (barring those that remember WWII). We lived through a global pandemic in spite of the fact that we almost universally got it wrong every step of the way. Fortunately we can now look at it with 20-20 hindsight and see that it was not as deadly as feared and count our blessings. Sadly it has been politicized (what isn’t these days) and I hope that does not mean the we (as a race of beings) have not been able to learn something. And of course we mourn the loss of so many friends and family members. Yes, there have been challenges.

On the political front (please bear with me, I think there are things that need to be said here), the world has managed to become so divided that we still don’t know who the President of the US will be in 2021 51 days after the election! And who ever it is we are sure that half the country will be angry. It appears that on the Brexit front a deal has just been reached this morning between the UK and the EU. I don’t follow the politics on that side of the pond as closely as I should, but from what I do know, this will lead to similar polarization. Yes, there have been challenges, and 2021 will likely present political challenges we have not yet dreamed of.

So why bring all that up? I’m not intending to spoil your holiday. No rather I want to use it as a way to shine a light on the good. I am not part of the “2020 Sucks” brigade, and I humbly encourage you to jump off that train if you are riding it. The pipe smoking community is a real thing, it is a global collective of souls that share a common interest in the pipe yet somehow find a way to use that interest to diffuse and smooth over other differences. Whether it be through the YouTube pipe community, Instagram, local pipe clubs, or the local B&M, we come together and we form friendships. Those friendships are strong and resistant to the troubles the world throws at us. I’ve had my share of disagreements this year, even with a few of you, yet once the dust settles, we remain friends. Why? Well I can only answer for myself. I believe that it because there is great value in people. People that agree or disagree on various points help me build a better and more resilient philosophy. And we all should be able to agree that there is something about pipe smokers. Perhaps the pipe attracts a particular sort, or perhaps the act of smoking a pipe does indeed lend itself to quiet introspection which is trans-formative. Whatever it may be, there are not many pipe smoking a$$holes.

We have all experienced good in this year of so much negativity. We should focus on that in the waining days of 2020 and use it to bridge into a happy 2021. We have learned new ways of working, new ways of maintaining contact with loved ones. We have discovered virtual pipe clubs, or meeting with friends to share a bowl over Skype or IG messenger. Many have grown closer to their children, become more involved in their education. Many have disconnected from social media and found that living in the moment has some real value. We have a renewed focus on health and wellness. Cooking better and fresher food, going for walks in the middle of the day to reset our minds and bodies. I could go on, but I think you get the idea. Find the good, and make it your focus.

On a personal level, the pipe repair business has never been better. I’ve continued to improve my process, adding new tools and expanding the shop. I had so many orders that I could not keep up, and found it necessary to stop taking new pipes until I could catch up.

Going forward I am using a waiting list method that allows me to focus on each pipe and take whatever time is necessary to do the best job I can. And I am taking steps to begin pipe carving. Not that I will be selling pipes anytime soon (if ever), but I want to apply some of the theories I have developed over years of restoration work to see if I can make a pipe as perfectly as possible and with all the precision possible (with apologies to Andre Jacob Roubo).

My wife and I are healthy, and our friends and family have been largely untouched by the pandemic. We have learned to live together 24 hours/day, which was a surprising challenge in the first few weeks of my working from home. I think we have found a happy balance.

I have lost some good and dear friends this year. This has left a void that still hurts to think about. But new friends begin to fill that void. This is how life works as we get older. I realize that someday I will be the one that is lost, but I feel better knowing that the brotherhood and sisterhood of briar will continue and others will be there to to support those that might miss me. The Christian in me knows that we will meet again, and that brings me great comfort.

In closing, the focus this year seems to be on friendship. And I thank each and everyone of of you for your friendship, patronage, and support. I hope that we will continue to build new friendships, and that you will continue to challenge me in the realm of pipe repair as well as in life. That is how we grow strong. I wish you and yours a very merry Christmas (or holiday of choice) and a blessed and healthy New Year.