@Desertdweller Welcome to the group. Nice to see a new lady piper among us. An 'off the grid', homeschooling Mother of three. living in a tiny house ... now you must have some amazing stories to tell. And this is just the place. You'll find this is just like sitting in a rocker on your front porch chatting with a couple of friends. We're from all walks of life, scattered across the globe, but we have one thing in common ... our love of pipes and tobacco. And that makes us kinfolk. But you are of a minority. And I'm not talking about your gender. You'll find that a majority of us are sporting some sort of facial hair, so you won't be sharing that first time you singed your beard while lighting a stubby nose warmer.
JMG here. I'm half of RHOX pipes. Mostly live/work in Papua New Guinea (Mississippi is my home). Been smoking a pipe for a number of years. I lean towards Virginia blends, but enjoy a bit of most.
George, have you ever been to, and toured any of the WW2 battle areas. As I am sure you know the area was a major campaign involving the Aussies, New Zealanders, and the good old USMC. There was extremely heavy ring that campaign.
JD here. I just moved to Jackson MS from Dallas TX and found The Country Squire. Found this site through CountrySquireRadio.com I used to smoke a pipe back when, but quit in 2002 when I quit cigs. When I discovered the Squire, I figured after 15 years I'd get back into pipe smoking again. I haven't decided on my fav type of tobacco yet. Trying them all one bowl at a time.
Greetings everyone! Name is Ed, from Orange County, CA. Wishing you all a merry Christmas and holiday. New to the TPL. Hoping to meet some local pipe smokers and engage in some thoughtful discussions. Cheers all.
@Oddjob27 Welcome to the forum my friend. Pull up a chair and have a smoke on me. Hope you don't mind that freshly baked pastry aroma coming from my pipe, I have a real sweet tooth and love my aromatic tobacco blends. By the way, why Oddjob27 and not Oddjob007?
@ghostsofpompeii Thank you for the warm welcome! I chose Oddjob because I’m Korean myself and love my derby/bowler hats as much as I love the James Bond stories. The 27 is for the date of my birthday. Haha. Cheers and thanks for lighting up with me.
@Oddjob27 You'll eventually notice as you scan through a few of the messages that one of the old stalwarts of the group @PappyJoe is partial to hats as well - and cuts a fine figure of a man no matter what style of hat he's donning. So feel free to post a photo of you puffing away on your favorite pipe while wearing that bowler hat. I'm not a hat person. Whenever my wife and I go to a store and I see a hat that catches my fancy, as I'm admiring myself in the mirror I'll catch her in the reflection laughing at me. So I guess that's a sure sign I'm not a hat person. Either that of I shouldn't be trying on hats in the ladies department.
@Oddjob27 - Welcome to the party. Now, let's see the bowler! I've always liked hats but think the wearing of a head covering became ingrained in my being during the 21 years I spent in the military where if you were outside, you had a "cover" on. I'm just so used to having a hat or ball cap on that I fill undressed if I don't wear one. Besides, it keeps the sun off my face when fishing.
Other than that, I think men wearing hats fell out of style during the 1960s because dress hats were considered "establishment" and "cowboy" hats were something only rednecks and rubes wore and were something to make fun of.
While I hear men saying all the time that the look funny wearing a hat, I believe they are actually saying that the look different than what they are used to. I think they area also making the mistake of trying on hats while not being dressed appropriately for the hat. For example, wearing a t-shirt, shorts and flip flops while trying on a Fedora or wearing a 3 piece suit and trying on a ball cap. My opinion is that the hat should match the clothing style.
For the record, I have more pipes than I do hats. I have 2 or 3 ball caps, 2 white Panama style hats, 3 Fedoras (1 Wool, 1 light brown straw, 1 red & green plaid for Christmas), 1 Panama style made from seagrass with the brim adorned with used beer bottle caps.
Thank you @Woodsman and @PappyJoe for the warm welcomes! I’ll post up a photo soon of the bowler haha. I really wish the old school hats still had a place in our society but hey, it is what it is and we can choose to be ourselves. Haha. Cheers everyone!
@Oddjob27 - Welcome aboard! I'm an ex-California native from the OC myself, but now call Kansas City home. Grew up in Fountain Valley, and then Costa Mesa and Huntington Beach in my adult years. Took a job in the midwest about 10 years ago and never looked back, although I still have a lot of family back there. Hope you enjoy the conversation here.
Regarding hats, as the hairline recedes it seems that every year they become less of a fashion accessory and more of a practical means of protecting my head from the elements. Ball caps remain my hat of choice for fashion, but when working in the yard I'm usually wearing a straw cowboy hat. @PappyJoe - I don't know if that makes me more of a redneck or a rube! I would love to be able to go with a Fedora in the right situation, but don't feel like I have the confidence to pull of that style just yet.
Hey @Go4Broke thank you so much! I grew up in Irvine and work down in south OC in Mission Viejo. Glad to meet another OC native! Any favorite smoking spots you used to go to?
@Go4Broke -I hope you understand that the statement about a cowboy hat wasn't my opinion but a reflection of the times back then. I have owned a number of honest cowboy hats that I've worn in the past. By the grace of God, I am a Texan by birth and learned growing up that a good Texan has at least 3 hats - One for working, one for wearing in the rain and one for formal occasions.
@Oddjob27 I graduated from UC Irvine in '92, so I know the area well. Unfortunately, I didn't start smoking a pipe until a year or two after I left. I came back to work on a job in LA in 2013 for a year, and other than in going to pipe shops found it difficult to find places to smoke in public.
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You are not too far from me here in Billings, at least by Montana standards. Welcome, and welcome all newcomers.
George, have you ever been to, and toured any of the WW2 battle areas. As I am sure you know the area was a major campaign involving the Aussies, New Zealanders, and the good old USMC. There was extremely heavy ring that campaign.
Welcome to the site.
Other than that, I think men wearing hats fell out of style during the 1960s because dress hats were considered "establishment" and "cowboy" hats were something only rednecks and rubes wore and were something to make fun of.
While I hear men saying all the time that the look funny wearing a hat, I believe they are actually saying that the look different than what they are used to. I think they area also making the mistake of trying on hats while not being dressed appropriately for the hat. For example, wearing a t-shirt, shorts and flip flops while trying on a Fedora or wearing a 3 piece suit and trying on a ball cap. My opinion is that the hat should match the clothing style.
For the record, I have more pipes than I do hats. I have 2 or 3 ball caps, 2 white Panama style hats, 3 Fedoras (1 Wool, 1 light brown straw, 1 red & green plaid for Christmas), 1 Panama style made from seagrass with the brim adorned with used beer bottle caps.
I also have a Santa hat or two or three.
Regarding hats, as the hairline recedes it seems that every year they become less of a fashion accessory and more of a practical means of protecting my head from the elements. Ball caps remain my hat of choice for fashion, but when working in the yard I'm usually wearing a straw cowboy hat. @PappyJoe - I don't know if that makes me more of a redneck or a rube! I would love to be able to go with a Fedora in the right situation, but don't feel like I have the confidence to pull of that style just yet.