From: ?????????????????? (Antti Kalliokoski)
Subject: e-mail address change and pipe care

-Greetings from the snowy Finland (Europe, Scandinavia)

[ Minor administrativa deleted. -S. ]

Then to pipes.

I accidentally lost the file wherein somebody recently asked advice about 
*how to clean the upper surface of pipe bowl*, so I can't refer to the name 
of the fellow pipe smoker, but in my humble opinion pipes are to age with 
their users. I personally like the changes pipes go through *when time goes 
bye* (wasn't it Casablanca and Bogart?). To me pipes are old pals; as I get 
older they are aging, too. Pipes acquire character. I have had pipes for 
about 30 years  now and must admit that the oldest of them have died for a 
long time ago. Of course the expected average living age of a pipe depends 
among other things the number of pipes you have. The more you have - the 
longer they live. To day I have about 20 pipes, so compared to a man who's 
got only one, the estimated life time of a pipe is 20 times longer.

BTW: Do the readers of this list have opinions about *the estimated living 
age of a pipe*?

So, I wouldn't worry about the extra surplus (I don't know the right 
expression for the phenomenon) atop your pipe's bowl. Instead, be proud of 
it: you are a pipe smoker, not a mannequin!

Lets look hopefully to the future despite all the nasty things that are 
happening around us. There are many things to enjoy, for example here in 
southern Finland days are already getting longer, the sun is above horizont 
after four a'clock, p.m. In the northern part of the country night still 
remains around the clock.

 Antti Kalliokoski, Europe, Scandinavia, Finland (?????????????)

[ IMHO, a properly cared for pipe should last forever. My experience
with _stems_, though, is that they last about five years -- except for
Peterson bits, which have yet to fail (knock wood!) -S. ]


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