Avoidance

 Considering the simplicity of my own theological belief system, I have found it rather difficult to read most any news item that isn't either religious or political in nature.  I want to comment on something I have read or have come across that I find interesting, but given the political climate of today it's getting harder to do.  Vegetarians won't like this news story, but it is about how to control the Iguana population of South Florida.  And the solution is to just eat them.  

Now, I am not going to write about eating Iguanas, but yesterday I mentioned I was smoking Escudo pipe tobacco by Dunbar Pipe Tobacco Company located in the British Isles.  I came across a forum yesterday that my wife suggested I join.  I decided to sign up, but one of the screening processes was to put in a category of somewhat obscure pipe manufacturing companies as to whether they were English or Italian.  I failed at my first attempt.  So, I had to use a two-browser method, keeping one on their site and using a second to look up the answers.  But I did it and am now a member of a pipe smoking forum.  

I figure that owning a jar of Escudo by Dunbar puts me in a special class of pipe smokers.  I did some checking around and although it can be found on sites, no one had any available to sell.  I could not find one place that had any in stock.  This pipe tobacco can be equated to a rare bottle of fine wine that the owner of such wine isn't sure he wants to drink it or save it.  My jar of Escudo wasn't full.  I had some years ago, but as I said yesterday, I decided to smoke some.  I am smoking the last of my Tropical Export this morning, but am expecting some tobacco to arrive tomorrow.

But as to how much Escudo u will smoke remains to be seen.  Since the jar is unsellable, my thinking is that a single bowl of tobacco is a lot more than the usual quarter a bowl.  If I could get full market value for this 30 year old tobacco, it might be worth about $200 a bowl.  But I am sure I can't get two grand for this jar, but if I could sell it, that might be the price of this jar that I have left.  I have about another five bowls left in the jar.  There is a 1990 price tag on the bottom of the jar for $13.50, which would be around $20 for an ounce today.  The jar holds about two ounces.

But I could make a few pipe smoking friends by sharing what I have left.   But I'll stretch it out to last a few days.  I might smoke it exclusively on International Pipe Smoking Day, which is Feb. 20.  I wanted to save some of the Good Stuff pipe tobacco for blending with some Lane BCA I ordered.  Well, today I am smoking my "haunted" Gettysburg pipe, which isn't really haunted.  But I like to believe it is.  Well, those are my thoughts this morning.  Happy Iguana hunting!  Thank you for your time and Peace to each one of you.

Dave