As most of you know, I am a pipe enthusiast. I love smoking a pipe as much as the next person loves smelling it. And, as most of you know, I love to read. So, it should not come as a shock when I tell you that I also love to read about pipe smoking.

I still cherish the pipe smoker’s guide that came with my first pipe. It’s a little two page pamphlet that teaches one to become a happy pipe smoker. I still refer to it from time to time, sometimes more for guidance than nostalgia. I also bought a book some years ago off eBay entitled, “Carl Webbers the Pleasures of Pipe Smoking.” It’s a little hardback book that cost $3.95 back in 1965.

So it should come as no shock that I recently discovered a magazine called, “Pipes and Tobacco”. I bought my first issue last December. (Winter 09 edition) My local B&M (that’s brick and mortar, or otherwise known as a tobacco shop) pointed it out to me. I took it home and read it cover to cover. (Mostly while sitting on the john, but not during one sitting.)

During one of my many adventures on the great, white throne, I saw an ad where one can order back issues. Two issues caught my mind. One had Samwise Gamgee on the cover (Sean Astin from The Lord of the Rings) and another with former President Gerald Ford. I knew then and there I would have to have those two issues, no matter what battles or obstacles I would face.

So, after asking the wife (obstacle hurdled) and gaining permission (battle won!) I placed my order on www.pt-magazine.com. Three excruciatingly long days later, my prize was in my hand. Tearing open the packaging I beamed as I held a President in one hand, and a hobbit in the other.

So, with the wife out for the evening and the baby asleep in her crib, I turned off the TV and nestled down on the couch with the dog by my side. I decided to spend that evening with the 38th President of the United States of America.

I learned a few things during my brief visit with President Ford. First, President Ford became the longest lived President when he died at the age of 93. (John Adams held that record for almost two centuries.) Second, he was the only President to be employed as a fashion and model. And third, he was our last pipe smoking president.