From: "Alan Block" <?????????????????>
Subject: Re: Pipes Digest #237 -- May 27, 1997

Your quote about the wood fires and heating oil needing to be banned is not
so far fetched.  Here in the otherwise calm, pleasant city of Beloit, WI we
are banned from burning leaves in autumn.  I have seriously thought of
moving because of this ordinance.  One of my fondest memories of autumn as
a youngster is burning leaves with my mother.  That smell is just Heaven to
me.

Outdoor wood fires are also regulated--you are to use them only when
cooking food.  We break this law often and have warming fires in our
backyard--and I always throw in a few leaves just to thumb my nose at
regulation.

Now comes word that the Tobacco-free Coalition wants to ban smoking of any
sort in all public places.  These are many of the same people who stopped
us from burning leaves.  Where will it stop?  Perhaps they will even ban
charcoal grills before too long.  Sad indeed.

Still, there is a strong group of people who are arguing with this faction
here.  Despite valid points (such as: don't you think the garbage trucks
picking up the unburned leaves are polluting more than the leaf burning
was?).  

In any event, I hope there are others out there who share my love of the
leaf-burning aroma--is there any tobacco that comes close to this smell? 
If so, I would love to know of it.

Yours in peace,
 Alan Block

[ Count me in.  I realize the problem of air pollution, and think that
mulching 'em is a better alternative -- but still fondly remember the
smell of burning leaves from my childhood. -S. ]


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