Pipeology - The Fine Art of Pipe Smoking and Thought

  I was looking at pipe smoking lounges in homes and pipe shops and my space compares to none of them, which have mahogany paneled walls and leather overstuffed chairs.  But I do have a smart TV hooked to a Roku streaming device.  If you notice a dirty yellow cloth I wipe my pipes with it once in a while.  I always keep a cloth handy.   I have to smoke outdoors.  I know of pipe smokers that have a room and have spent thousands on air purifiers, but no matter the expense nothing can clean the air in a house of pipe smoke.  We’re concerned about second-hand smoke for health reasons.  Even a man cave in a garage isn’t enough.  One can open garage doors, but smoke near a house can find its way in.   But outside is best for all concerned.  I’ve taken lots of photos from our deck at our NY home.  Here I sit by the pool and that is my scenery here.  The chairs are obviously not over stuffed leather recliners, but patio style chai...

 My wife says I need a pipe lounge on YouTube.  There are a lot of mostly guys smoking pipes on YouTube and I need my own YouTube videos to share with pipe smokers on YouTube.  I don’t smoke in an easy chair watching TV or reading a book in the living room.  I smoke my pipe only outdoors.  My “lounge” is a patio table and chairs.  Years ago I had my own office in our home where I would smoke my pipes.  Once in a great while I might smoke in the living room.   We had a deck with table and chairs at our home in Ohio.  But eventually I moved outdoors especially when I started smoking cigars for a while.  But when we moved to NY it was the deck until it got too cold and then I moved to the garage with a space heater and I bundled up for the cold.  Here in Florida it has just been the lanai.   I sometimes miss not having an indoor office.  But even then my wife didn’t like the smell of a pipe throughout the house.  I still...

 They don’t exist.  I went to YouTube search for pipe smoking lounges and all I found were lounges for cigar smokers.  Cigar smokers are typically more socialable and can be loud.  Pipe smokers, on the other hand, tend to be more quiet and rather into themselves.  But if I wanted a lounge for smoking my pipes, I’d have to go to cigar bars.  I really don’t want to do this.  If I share my space with someone, I prefer quiet conversations with one or a few and would rather be less sociable than cigar smokers. This is why I’d rather smoke my pipe at home.  I know I’d be sharing space with no one but a few.  I’d rather not seek to be the center of attention.  I’d rather listen than talk.  But I can carry on a conversation, which in today’s world seems to be a lost art with everyone on their phones.  A conversation is still the best way to communicate, in my thinking.   I just spent the last three hours here on the lanai with my ...

 I would never deny my experience with my Angels.  I represent them in everything I do and they are all that I am.  I can’t help this.  It’s who I am.  Maybe since and still I am not quite human.  I get stressed by being around too many people just for this reason.  I simply can’t deny my Angels in all I do and they define all that I am.  I’ve had to learn to deal with it. Having an understanding wife helps me a lot.  And then sharing with close trusted friends helps a lot.  But there is nothing I can do to change the way I feel.  I know how God will judge the world when the Messiah comes as I have been judged already.  I could go against my Angels and change the course of events, but my Angels and God knew I wouldn’t do this.   Would I rather not have had the experience?  Without the Angels I doubt seriously I would be alive today.  This blog would not exist.  But instead of being an influencer I change liv...

 I was reading this morning about the personality types of pipe smokers.  They are introspective and know what they believe.  They aren’t swayed by trends.  They tend to have what now can be called old-fashioned values.  They believe in consistency and tend to be more instructive than learners.  They aren’t easily swayed from their beliefs.   I gave up my pipes for ministry and if I had smoked my pipes then I might have been a far more effective minister.  But I rediscovered my pipes after leaving ministry and never looked back.  My pipes have kept me being balanced.  I tend to believe all ministers would be more effective if they smoked a pipe.   But ministry is just one occupation.  This is why pipe smoking is associated with professional fields like teaching.  I find I read better while smoking a pipe.  I tend to have clearer thoughts while smoking a pipe.  It helps keep me focused.  And it keeps my emoti...

 We’re settled in here in Florida and I was thinking about our last month in NY.  When we go to NY, it is like a Spiritual retreat.  There is something about the mountain in NY that seems to recharge me.  It is a Spiritual area and I can feel it whenever we travel on the road through the forest up to our home.  It is a three mile drive from the main road up the mountain to our home.   But even here on Florida I was thinking this morning about how I am feeling now.  NY is so isolated and about a month at a time there is all I can take.  After a while the isolation gets to be too much.  But it’s the getting there that is taxing.  The nearest airport is Newark and it’s an hour and a half from there to our mountain home.   If somehow I could be transported there it would be okay.  But on this trip we flew out of JFK airport, which is two and half hours away.  I can do without all the traveling.  I just wish it were easier...

 Yesterday was a travel day.  We’re back in Florida today.  I’m kind of relaxing this morning, but we have errands to run today.  I woke earlier this morning.  I’m listening to some Lofi coffee jazz this morning while smoking my morning pipe and drinking my morning coffee.  Our houseguest did a great job caring for the house and our cats.  We will unpack later, but this morning it is my pipe, my coffee, and some music.   I can go days or weeks without a pipe, but I didn’t smoke yesterday.  We were traveling from about noon yesterday until about ten last night.  Almost twelve hour is too much.  But I hope we can get settled in by evening tonight.  But right now is me time until breakfast is ready.   I swapped the deck for the lanai by the pool.  I enjoyed watching the deer amble through our backyard.  And I’ve traded them for cats that go and out.  In a few days our routines here will be back to normal after ...

Long ago I chose not to attend funerals unless it was imperative that I be there.  It was imperative for me to attend one today.  Unless there is a tragedy funerals these days celebrate a life instead of mourning.  But this evening it is all over and there is a sense of relief and joy in the family.  It’s not about believing but more about knowing.   I almost want to write a eulogy here, but I’ll spare you the details.  It is a life of honor we celebrate today.  And his honor continues in  the lives of his family.  I had to wipe some tears as I think of his legacy.  It goes on.  And life goes on.  I have my reasons for not attending funerals, but those reasons are mostly personal to my family and myself.   If I were to worry about my own demise I would state emphatically I am worried.  But my beliefs are tied to my experience with Angels and fear no one would understand.  There is much my Angels told me that I ha...

 Maybe religion of some kind.  I heard this and had to smoke a few bowls and ponder it.  I never put my total trust in government or people.  Anyone concerned about popularity is a politician in some form or another.  Dictators coerce for popularity.  Politicians of all kinds care about power.  But what have I cared about most of my life.?  A Power from without.  And I still do! Every person I have known has had weaknesses.  And the fact is I wouldn’t be here if not for my Angels.  It was just a two and a half hour conversation, but they told me all I would need to know for the past 31 years and I have not forgotten.  Part of me is in heaven already.  Maybe I am not fully human.  But another part of me lives on this earth.  That is the part that promotes love and Peace as I was not like this before. I can like most anyone but choose to love those closest to me.  Hate is not in me.  But my Angels didn’t ...

 I follow the news, but nothing I hear causes me to fear.   First of all, my Angels told me no harm will come to me.  But should I rear for others?  In a way I do, but in other ways I don’t.  My Angels told me everything I need to know even though it is 31 years later.  I meditate so I won’t forget.  Meditation keeps me focused and maybe I meditate too much. But my thinking is that if I am to do more than I am doing now the Spirit will lead me.  I am doing that which I am supposed to do.  I am to mostly be quiet and ponder the things my Angels told me.  The Angels knew this time was coming when there would be much fear in the world.  But I am not to fear.  If I fear then I am not putting faith in all I claim my Angels told me. These things must be before the Messiah  comes.  I understand this.  I am to remain as relaxed as possible.  But how do I know this?  It is now a part of my DNA, so to speak. ...

 Yes.  From outside ourselves—not dependent on any person, but outside ourselves.  My thoughts are heavenward; not here on this earth.  My thoughts are about Angels and the One to come.  This is why I am so fascinated by what Voyager may have discovered.  My thoughts are heavenward—not here on this earth.  I have been like this for a quarter of a century. Like the prophets of old I keep asking, “How long, oh Lord?”  I keep waiting as I have for a long time.  Jesus called this period of time the labor pains.  I call it apocalyptic.  We are there.  I know I have written about this before, but Jesus says that nation will rise up against nation and hate will spread to the point where brother will turn against brother.  There will be persecution and lawlessness.   I don’t want to quote all that Jesus says about this period of time, but we are there.  Although the world has been in tribulation for two thousand year, we...

It’s about 4:30 in the afternoon as I began to write this post.  It’s been a relatively quiet day up here on the mountain.  I’ve been smoking my Dunhill pipe a good part of the day.  My tobacco is Bayou Night and I have a bottle of water here on the table.  When it’s not raining or I’m doing errands I spend my time here on the deck unless I go to the garage to get out of the rain. I take walks a lot of mornings up here.  I love walking on the road that cuts through the forest here.  My wife and I were talking today about spending more time here in NY, but that depends on so many factors.  The house came with an above ground swimming pool, but we’re talking about getting rid of it.  It is more of a liability than an asset although it’s been used about a dozen times since we’ve owned the house.   There is a family of deer that cuts through our back yard often.  And while the deer are pests to plants and gardens, I enjoy seeing them.  ...

 I’m smoking my Gettysburg pipe this morning with the last of my Captain Black Original.  My coffee is Cameron’s.  I enjoy the quiet living here in NY.  My Gettysburg pipe is one of my favorite pipes.  I often wonder who made this pipe and wonder whether it has any connection to the battle there.  I’ve made up my own stories about this pipe, but that is because I romance about the maker wondering just who they were.   I have time this morning to ponder this pipe as I smoke it.  Why does the hand carved into it only have three fingers and a thumb?  Why just three fingers instead of four?  That is a mystery that will never be solved.  It is a very mysterious pipe.  An antique store had a bunch of pipes in a jar.  I went through them and this pipe was among them.  They were all no name pipes.  So, I don’t even know the brand.   It has a silver band where the stem goes into the summer.  And I knew it was a ...

 I told my wife last night that I’m fascinated by what Voyager I may have found.  But while the vids are fresh the information is the same.  Voyager found something or rather something was waiting for it.  But just what IT is NASA doesn’t know.  Voyager was reprogrammed by some entity.  But what that entity is no one knows or NASA is keeping it secret.   I keep watching fresh vids but the information is the same.  Something is out there.  I’m fascinated by that something.  In fact I’m more fascinated by what is using Voyager than any interest I have of anything going on here on earth.  But why?  And THAT is my question.   I’m simply fascinated by what Voyager has found or rather what has found it.  Some believe that entity is telling us to stay on our own planet, but NASA is quiet about what that entity is saying.  But Voyager has changed course on its own and some suggest its course is bringing it back.  Bu...

  We’ll be here another week.  We are leaving a week from tomorrow.  I kind of get recharged from being up here.  Actually I would love to be here about when the leaves turn and stay through the holidays.  But so much depends on so many things.  We miss the change of seasons in Florida.  I don’t mind being on the deck during the crisp days of fall.  But come winter and I’m ready to leave. Our scheduling this year is dependent on so many things.  We may not be able to come back this year, but it’s always pleasant here when we come.  This year has been no different.  But whether here or in Florida neither place seems like home.  We have connections here as we do in Florida, but to my wife and I, Ohio still seems like home. But my wife felt more comfortable in Ohio than I did.  I figure home is where I sleep.  It doesn’t matter to me.  Florida summers bring hurricanes and it can be hot and humid in Florida during th...

 I’ve learned to be quiet.  I’ve also learned to have a good heart.  In fact, since my heart attack, I’ve learned to pay close attention to my heart.  Stress is a killer.  I’ve learned one way to deal with stress and that is simply to be quiet and listen.  I find it easier to do here in NY since it is so quiet here.  But in some ways it’s too quiet. I listen to nature here.  But I do enjoy human company.  I like it when my wife comes to the deck here to join me.  I miss the more human interaction we have in Florida.  Here there isn’t much.  It rained overnight and a light fog is settling here on the mountain.  But I find myself wanting to get back to Florida.  Arrangements for the funeral are being made.   Looks like we’ll be here another week.  But I’ll get the most from being here.  I ordered some more tobacco to tide me over for another week.  I ordered a two ounce tin of Dusk by Cornel and Dieh...

 But the Sunday morning music is the same.  I’m listening to Sunday Morning Coffee put together by Chip Davis.  In Florida I sit by the pool.  Here I sit among the trees and the deer.  I didn’t bring my Sunday pipe with me.  I left that in Florida.  So this morning it is my Sherlock Holmes pipe.  And it’s just my wife and I here this morning.   But the meditation is the same.  I sit here and focus on the things that matter most.  This album came out on CD back around 1990.  I think we bought it around 19994.  And I’ve listened to it every Sunday morning since.  But the past few years I’ve listened to it while smoking my Angel pipe.   I don’t have a lot to say this morning.  Just listening to the music and quietly sitting.  My tobacco this morning is Captain Black Original.  My wife likes the room note of this one the best.  My coffee is Cameron’s from Amazon.  Thank you for your time and ...

Fifty years of marriage to the same woman has taught me a lot about love.  Intimacy is about sharing a life together.  Love isn’t about sex.  It’s about the other person.  Love starts with family and spreads from there.  I have enough love for myself and others.  And it’s just not about intimacy. It’s about caring and about just being there.  God puts people in our lives for a reason. My reason might be different from most because of my Angels.  Sometimes I think I underestimate my Angels.  But when I am connected Spiritually through meditation there isn’t anything they can’t do.  They are not only Peace and love but they are light.  I have a sweatshirt from Oxford University in London that says as its motto with an open Bible that says God Illumines Me in Latin.   This is how I feel about myself.  But my Angels aren’t just limited to me but also to those around me.  I wish I could explain how they work but no matter ...

 I was just quietly sitting here on the deck and was meditating and realized there are about five deer in our back yard.  I decided I’m not alone in my morning meditation.  I’ve commented a lot about the deer here, but really they can’t be ignored.  Apart from any bears they are the largest creatures of the forest here.  They make their presence known as they are not totally silent as they step on the underbrush.   They are most active in the mornings and evenings, but can be active throughout the day.  They really are majestic creatures.  The bucks don’t get their antlers until the fall.  So, it’s hard to tell if they are male or female, but bucks snort sometimes and are usually larger than the does.   The birds here are more song birds than they are in Florida.  They too are most active in the mornings and evenings.  Except for the occasional car that passes by on the front road all I hear mostly are the sounds of nature. ...

 We have WiFi here, Roku, and a Fire TV.  The outside world comes to us as it does in Florida.  We still get the local TV stations in Florida on Hulu.  The only way we know we are isolated is to come outdoors and see very few cars pass by and we watch deer amble through our yard.  Outside is where we see our isolation.   Our son put up a 75-inch TV over the fireplace and that is our entertainment center.  We have more comfortable seating in Florida and we have no cats here.  We are missing the cats we have in Florida.  But my wife and I decided that as long as we are together we have each other.  We share a car with our daughter-in-law.  Grocery stores are quite a ways from us.   If we need something for the house Walmart isn’t too far otherwise we order from Amazon.  It’s just nice, quiet, and peaceful here on our mountain.  This one isn’t long—just a few observations about being here in NY.  I’m smoking my Pete...

 Life has two certainties:  death and taxes.  At some point in our lives we experience both.  We’ve been dealing with a death of my daughter-in-law’s father.  He is in hospice care right now for bone marrow cancer.  It’s just a matter of time.  We may leave NY next week, but are unsure right now.  We have no arrangements to fly back so my son can come when necessary. At first it was hard for my daughter-in-law to accept.  But she has.  We’re waiting for the inevitable to happen.  It’s just a matter of time.  We might not come back for the funeral, at least I don’t think.  She’s made final arrangements and now it’s just waiting.   But spirits are high as we know of his life.  I could write his biography, but although he never spoke English I have a strong connection to him.  I can feel him.  I can’t quite explain it but she was meditating with him yesterday and I felt the presence of his wife.  He s...

 The world right now needs a lot of love—not less of it.  I do my part with close friends and family.  Some might say it’s easy.  The hard part is loving the unloveable.  Actually, friends and family is where it begins.  If it doesn’t begin there then there is no beginning.  It is widely known that divorce attorneys do best when they can get couples to hate each other.   Domestic violence is often the worst kind.  I won’t get into that, but really, I might say love begins with oneself.  The worst kind of hatred often ends with hatred of the self.  Love has to begin with the self.  Then it simply manifests itself outward from there.  Sometimes the only kind of love a person has is for the self.  Those are the narcissists of this world.  They too can be the worst kind.   So, it’s not either/or but both/and.  A narcissist is either/or.  But those who genuinely love are the both/and kind of person. ...

 Regardless of where you land on the political spectrum , it isn’t worth being upset one way or another.  Why?  Whatever happens is the way it’s supposed to be.  There are always people like me who observe through rose colored glasses and maybe with a Bible in hand.  But many with Bibles take sides.  In my case it’s not a Bible.   It’s all about prophecy.  But how do I know this?  Angels.  I am going to live regardless and no one will harm me.  I’m simply not worried.  But if not for Angels, I simply do not know.  I might not even exist.  There might be a few who might test my Angels, but woe to those who might try.  Do NOT mess with Angels!  Especially mine! So, if I felt I had reason to fear, I’d fear.  But regardless of what happens next I am not afraid.  It simply must be!  Fear is for fear mongers.  I’d rather spread Peace and Love than fear.  It’s what my Angels left me.  ...

 I’m known to many as Papa Chasteen.  I say many because I’m not sure myself.  Probablyat least a few thousand.  But I’ve decided to use that instead of just “Dave.”  Papa Chasteen is known for his Angels.  I used to call them “Spirit Guides” but just call them now for what they are.  They are Angels and I might as well refer to them as such.   I make no claim to fame, but quite the opposite.  It’s just that I have been saved by Angels, otherwise  I wouldn’t be here in this world.  I can get stressed, but depression is my mortal enemy.  So, I spend much time in prayer and meditation.  I need that time to connect with my Angels.   This is what makes me Papa Chasteen.  I am convinced that if not for Angels I wouldn’t cease to exist.  But my Angels say I will be here to welcome the Messiah when He arrives.  No one will harm me and I will not die.  I have no fears.  Worries?  Yes.  Fears...

One of the things about writing is that it isn’t talking.  Written words are a window to the soul.   I have been told once I needed to write down my conversations with God in my meditations.  I’d rather not, I said, I don’t want others to see how irreverent I am with God.  He and I can have intense personal exchanges.   I don’t want anyone to see that.  I pretty much keep everything between Himself and me. I can get impatient that the Messiah hasn’t come yet.  But the Tribulation in my thinking began with WWII with Hitler being the Anti-Christ.  And it is still going on.  The Beast and the Four Horsemen are here now.  And I await the New Beginning as my Angels promised I’d see.  So after 31 years my patience with God can run thin.  A lot has happened in 31 years.   I just don’t want my conversations with God exposed.  These are very intimate conversations between my Creator and myself.  I have shared a few things...