It's November 1st. - My One Year Anniversary As A Member The Pipeline

ghostsofpompeii

I was just on my Member Status page and discovered November marks my one year anniversary as a member of The Pipeline. Don't know the exact date - but it's sometime in November.

I've been a member of a variety of groups and forums over the years (music, movies and the like) and I'm completely blow away by the fact that in my entire time here I haven't seen one Flame War break out or experienced a bad natured Troll looking to start a fight. In my short time I've meet a lot of great people and some interesting characters. And from day one I was made to feel welcome and comfortable enough to join in discussions without fear of ridicule or intimidation when displaying my ignorance of certain long-standing techniques or practices known to most pipe smokers. I've experience a genuine kinship with the members and occasionally find myself dumbstruck by the generosity of perfect strangers. We're from all walks of life - brought together by a chunk of wood. Yet there is no generation gap here. Somehow members seemed to bridge the divide. Old Timers are more than willing to share their knowledge and experience with newcomers and offer helpful advice and positive reinforcement without coming across as pompous know-it-alls. They share their early trials and tribulations to prevent us from making the novice mistakes they endured when no such forums were available to them. And if they don't know the answer they can usually direct you to a place on the web where the information you seek can be found. And what's just as impressive is just how quick the recipients are to respond with an appreciative " thanks for the advice".  Common courtesy may seem like a no brainer - but its rarer than you may think.    

And I've been equally impressed by the skill and craftsmanship of the many artisan pipe makers here on the site. Regular guys puttering around in their garage workshops creating stunning pipes that rival noted pipe makers like Dunhill, Peterson and Savinelli.

Great group. Great bunch of guys and gals. Thanks for putting up with me these past 12 months.   

     

motie2

And it's because of people like you, Ghost, that this forum is such a success. 

(I was awarded my one year badge last month. It took me from August of 2016 until October of that year to stumble upon ThisPipeLife.com.)

buflosab

Congratulations ghostsofpompeii,I'm certain I speak for all of us,Thank You.

jim102864

Congratulations, Ghost!  Apparently, it's my one year anni this month too.  I know I've learned a hell of a lot more from you and the many others who contribute here than you and they have from me.  More importantly it's all of you and the wisdom you share that has helped me come to love pipe smoking over the past year...and blow lots of money doing so.  Just don't tell my wife.

KA9FFJ

@ghostsofpompeii Belated congrats. I enjoy your contributions to TPL...

FatherBriar

HAPPY BIRTHDAY @ghostsofpompeii

motie2

A birthday poem, unearthed for my friend, @ghostsofpompeii

SUNDAY POEM: GHOSTS OF POMPEII
BY ADEBE DERANGO-ADEM 

O me O my O molten ash,

sulfuric gas—where was Jesu

at your Vesuvius—

I ask centuries later because I am feeling

that feeling I can only describe as

a difficulty rising above.

Part of me wants the darkness, all of it,

& the heat & chalices of wine rancid & passion

rampant & courage supreme. & also a cornucopia

of fruits on the side, just before the storm.

I want all forms of extravagance &

 

to be the vagrant Sappho would have been

proud of or the roman beauty of the ages

who could turn any man to dust

or against himself. My sermon on your mount

would have been a treatise to the bruises

on my knees for the nights I spent the hours

making sure God could understand me

but all I got was a wink

from above & so I learned to go gently

into that good night

because in morning all would likely be lost.

In truth I could not want

bliss consistent or the wages

of the world people get from carrying

attitudes so mortal & so now.

Love candles while you can,

dream in Roman tongue & terra

cotta & do not fear the smell of burning bones.

Welcome to my love, equal

parts ash & delirium, born

from an age where animalia reigned

alongside majesty & all that glittered was not gold

& it is also partially my strega & Nubian grandmothers

& what have you. It is the everlasting

old wives’ tale of the slow dance

of death that takes on the crusted face

& tired laugh of marriage.

It is a grape stain, broken vessel

in the eye, broken ship

upon waters high

& it is also fires low,

unrepentant.

Woodsman

Congratulations @ghostsofpompeii, you've poured a lot of yourself into this short year and I for one am very happy that you have.

Londy3

@ghostsofpompeii, congrats man! A year goes by fast. They go faster and faster.  There is something about the pipe community and this includes YTPC. Just real salt of the earth people. We have nothing to prove to anyone. We are all just experiencing life but willing to share what we experience.