Iwan Ries

 

My friend who posts as "Unknown" mentioned the wonderful tobacco shop Iwan Ries in the comments section.  I cannot believe that I did not remember Iwan Ries was in Chicago.  I have been to the shop during a few different Chicago trips (I have not been to Chicago in quite a while now, but back in the late 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s quite a few scientific meetings I attended were in Chicago).  

The best I can guess is that back in the 1980s, as there were pleasant pipe shops in damn near every city, even small towns often had fun shops that the "special-ness" of Iwan Ries did not really register with me as especially noteworthy because pipe shops still proliferated the landscape, and especially during those earlier meetings, I tended to be fairly "focused" on "all things science" at the time and I did not focus as heavily on the city adventures that I do now when I go to a science conference. I would typically spend the lion's share of my time in the Convention Center and its "sciency" goings-ons with only limited forays out-and-about.  And, because I was a helluva lot younger then, perhaps the age, and the gravitas of this pipe shop did not particularly register in my less mature mind and instead I simply viewed it as a great place to get some pipe tobacco during my stay in the city.  

I looked up the shop and it IS still in business AND it has a lounge that allows pipe smoking.  There is a $15 fee to be a "member" of the lounge for a day, but that is acceptable I suppose.  Interestingly, it has a BYOB policy, so a you can bring alcohol of your choice to consume in the lounge as well.  Visiting the lounge does sound very, very pleasant to me! 

Now... several factors to consider:

1.  Will I have actual TIME to visit the lounge during this rather unfortunately short trip?  I am hopeful.  I also would like to visit the Hemingway Home Museum in Oak Park.  Ultimately, I would like to visit both places.  Yet...  I also (to an extent, regrettably) have to do considerable WORK on this trip as it is not really a science conference that I can pick-and-choose where and when to be at things. Instead it is a science education task force/workshop where my time is far more prescribed for me.

2.  The idea of going to the lounge, perhaps having a generous three fingers of scotch, or perhaps instead having a few IPAs... and after a spell where the libations are allowed to work through my visage.....  then I could slowly and patiently..... deeply draw a golden flame into a bowlful of my most potent, deep, dark and robust, heavy-textured burley leaf.  This seems so utterly beautiful a way to spend an afternoon or evening.  It almost feels surreal and rather hedonistic to even imagine the experience.

3.   In the above scenario, almost every "box" affording me to give this a go is checked.  It is an isolated location... not allowing me to repeat the experience daily which might be my inclination after the experience. It will be regulated as I am only in Chicago a few days.  It is a special occasion (travel has always counted to me as a special occasion).  All of these things are ideal situations that I believe/hope can help me to find a comfortable way to have what I hope to have available to me.... an infrequent, occasional pipe smoking experience. 

4.  But then... my fear, my worry... is that if I do get that taste and flavors again of the lovely pipe tobacco leaf upon my tongue... if I do get the beautiful pleasing tingling sensation again in my nasal cavity from the thick, chalky, murky and textural smoke... if I do get the gentle quieting of my mind, if I do get the beautiful coloration of my thoughts, if I do experience the nearly impossible to describe jubilant contentedness again... WILL I be strong enough to go back to this fast?  And, if I muster up that strength, will I have simply given myself a ticket to have things again feel just as damn grueling and just as agonizing as when I first set my pipes down?  Or, will I not even be able to muster up the willpower to try to refrain and just fall completely back into my prior indulgence?  

To be frank, if I were to have to experience again the level of frustration and the sense of loss again like it was during the first several weeks when I first laid down my pipes.... I am not sure that smoking at the smoking lounge at Iwan Ries would be a good idea for me.  I know that I currently pine away for my pipes and pipe tobaccos to this day.  And, I suspect that will always be.  But... the sheer intensity of that loss, emotionally and physically during those first few weeks when I first laid my pipe down..... I never really want to experience that again.  But, perhaps I have successfully "rewired" myself like I hope, and that I CAN just taste and experience that joy of the pipe now, and then comfortably set it aside until some distant, future "special event" happens and I can experience its joy again.... and the "in-between" times are simply comfortable... or at least no worse than now.   

I wish I had more confidence in how I would react, in how I would feel after indulging again.  I just simply do not know. Not knowing scares me a bit.

• Ran my usual 11 miles (~18 km).  Loops on the track are rather boring.  I should attempt to fix my damn treadmill.  But, I believe I need a new motor.  
• PCS = 7... still a significant yearning.  Still very easy to lose track of what I should be focused on and instead drifting off into pipe smoking memories.
   

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