Special Balkan

Isn't Bing Crosby the greatest? I don't know much about his personal life. But I love the way he makes a pipe look so good. The way his voice sounds. The way he embodies that dignified, American, fatherly type of personality. I love the roles he chose in movies and I love the way that he played them. The banter between he and Bob Hope, the Andrews Sisters and Louis Armstrong is just so light, fun and wholesome. For some reason I constantly find myself looking to old Bing as an image of something good and real. It's one of the beautiful images associated with pipes that is burned into my brain (along with Bilbo, Gandalf, Sherlock, and a few others).

Tonight I closed off another beautiful day with a bowl of Edward's Special Balkan. It is just a beautiful blend of Latakia and some other oriental tobaccos that has a spicy yet soft full flavor. One reviewer that I read claimed that this tobacco made them feel like they had just finished Thanksgiving dinner. That's an image that comes back to me every time I smoke this tobacco (I buy it in great quantities). And I know exactly what this fellow was talking about. It is a rich experience, and it makes one feel full and satisfied.

I'll be the first to confess that I'm not terribly discriminating. The list of tobaccos that I enjoy is (at this point at least) much longer than the list of tobaccos that I haven't liked. I guess the experience of smoking a pipe is too nice not to enjoy. As I sit back and enjoy a pipe I'm always in good company. I have a number of good smoking brothers (brothers in the Lord). And when I am alone I find some of my best times of prayer and reflection come while enjoying a pipe. I suppose that is why it is difficult for me to have a bad experience. The time alone is as coveted as the time with friends. The blessing of having something that causes me to be endlessly thankful (though it may only be a small thing) reminds me of all of the really big things that I am endlessly thankful for. And I'm thankful for you, dear reader, and I hope you have a bowl of full and satisfying to tobacco lined up in the near future that draws you towards thankfulness as well. Or, if not tobacco, some other small pleasure that does the same thing.