Things HAVE Changed

 Mark Twain often visited a club in New Haven, Connecticut, where he gathered with distinguished gentlemen the world over.  These clubs were called Gentlemen's clubs for a reason.  Distinguished gentlemen would gather as such clubs for drinks and polite conversations of topics of interest.  I wondered if his club in New Haven still existed.  But today, such a name is given to strip joints.  

New Haven has a lot of strip joints as I now understand, but such gentlemen's clubs are now cigar bars or the local place where cigars are smoked without restrictions.  But evidently the old style gentlemen's clubs no longer exist.  I find that rather sad, but things have certainly changed over the years.  Such conversations today are held in strip joints, which might explain a lot with clubs banning women no longer existing.  

Such clubs today might be an exclusive country club where wealthy women are just as accepted.  But gentlemen's clubs did once exist.  Why do I bring this up now?  Because in such clubs as they were, men would sit in quiet conversation while smoking either a pipe or the ocassiinal cigar.  Such clubs consisted of mostly intellectual men of the day.  And many men would travel great distances just to visit the club a few times a year.  

Reservations weren't needed , but membership was required.  And the fees were quite steep like today's exclusive country clubs.  But men would go there not sure who would be there at any given time.  But they were a far cry from today's strip joint, which are now called gentlemen's clubs.  Such clubs back in the day would have doormen and butlers, not scantily clad bartenders and huge bouncers big enough to play linebacker in the NFL.   Who knows?  Maybe he did!

I'm an old guy who had his best conversations in pipe shops, while smoking my pipes.  I find today's cigar bars to be a bit too intimidating for my tastes, although I've been to a few.  But today's cigar smokers are different from back in the day.  I have no desire for today's strip joints, and while I've spent time in today's cigar lounges, the feeling isn't that of exclusivity as I found in pipe shops.  

There is a certain kind of clientele that spent time in pipe shops.  That clientele was knowledgeable about pipes and tobaccos and might not be too different from today's pipe clubs.  I've never belonged to a pipe club, but I got to know other men who smoked pipes and cigars.  But today's pipe smoker often spends more time in seclusion at home than going out to smoke a pipe as one once did.  I miss lighting a pipe after a fine meal out, which I haven't done for years.    

I'm not even sure smoking is allowed in most any strip club.  But perhaps today's cigar bar is about as close as we'll get to what used to be gentlemen's clubs.  Maybe I'll start my own.  I'll have one member.  You can't get more exclusive than this.  Today it is my Nording Number 2  pipe, wth which I had a cup of hot back coffee while smoking some London Squire Ebglish tobacco.  Thank you for your time and Peace to each one of you.

Dave