Brothers,
I thought maybe some of you more experienced pipers could weigh in on this and possibly help me at least sort thru my current feelings about meerschaum pipes. I've heard that they provide a cool smoke. and hence the reason some briar pipes are lined with meerschaum. From a functional perspective, I can process this. And Lord knows I have seen some pics of beautifully carved Meerschaum that flat out qualify as accomplished works of sculpture. Here's my thing: my life experiences, movie choices, social programming, etc have all worked in conjunction to create an image of a briar pipe in my mind when I turn to the entry marked "pipe" in my mental dictionary. Various shapes and sizes of briar, but always briar. (Well... ok... corncob too when I think rural.) While admire the artistry that is clearly present in a well carved Meerschaum... I just can't get my head around the idea of sitting in my den in front of the fireplace, wearing my smoking jacket and ascot, and puffing away on a pipe that has been carved to look like Richard Nixon's head or SpongeBob Squarepants.
No disrespect meant to those who do. Anybody else feel this way? Or am I alone in my prejudice?
respectfully,
Tim (PS- I made up the part about the smoking jacket and the ascot
)
