Whispy Hillbilly Nostalgia

When I moved to the SW Missouri Ozarks 20 years ago, I wondered what the crap I'd gotten myself into in returning to the state of my birth from SW Florida. But, over time, I developed a taste for some of the more stereotypical aspects of Ozarks culture and practice and I couldn't be more at home. Things that have nearly been forgotten due to TV and the Internet, but the rest of the country still thinks are frequently afoot in daily life. For instance, I love Bluegrass music and Classic Country (pre-1970s, mostly). I love Ozarks folk art, crafts and history. I love funny small town and hill folk accents. I love floating rivers, fishing, hiking and just about anything else outdoors. I also like smoking tobacco on occasion from a corncob pipe. Especially when camping or hiking. There's nothing more relaxing than a campfire's glow and a pipe on a cool fall or winter evening.

Which brings me to this little bit of corny hillbilly awesomeness, my new Missouri Meerschaum Country Gentleman Strait with "Rusticob" treatment. It's basically the same pipe that Aristocob has been selling for a while, only rusticated by adding some stain or paint to it. It's REALLY pretty, in my opinion. I normally smoke the same pipe in a bent standard form. This new one will easily fit itself into the rotation.