Not something I see many times

I always smile when I encounter another pipe-smoker, which is a rare happenstance these days.

It is encouraging to see fellow pipe smokers out and about. My take is if you make eye contact hoist a bowl and give a thumbs up and play it by ear.

Some long term pipe smokers are quite different than the forum member and pipe club attendee...they smoke a pipe and that is where it begins, and ends.

I have approached people buying pipe tobacco at the shop where our pipe club meets, and the responses have been all over the map, from enthusiastic, to vibes that feel like " Get lost, scumbag" I have seen the same response to a fellow member of our pipe club that did the same.
Typically, face to face greetings go nowhere, social media and forums get attention....go figure.

Unfortunately the trend you are referring to is real. I’ve seen families out to dinner with themselves and they are not taking, they are texting.
This virtual world is great but lacks in the humane aspect of relationship building outside of it it seems. That said, I would gladly pack, light and hoist a pipe with everyone here !

    Charlie, as you read my post you will probably remember I posted it on another thread prior. Your response was similar as you posted above, I remember your story. I’ve come to the conclusion....some people are strange!

Here in the SF Bay Area, sometimes I see one guy riding around in an old WWII jeep smoking a pipe.

Strange Thing..The few pipe smokers I've met lately didn't really want to talk about pipe smoking.They want to talk about something else.I remember one fella who only wanted to talk about a car he was restoring..About the strangest one was a fella who told me how much he liked his pipe.Then I noticed the stem was taped in with electrical tape.

A few months back, I had parked my car and was walking towards the entrance to Safeways to pick-up a few items, wherein I'd noticed a gentleman in his 70', blue jeans, button down shirt, and suspenders, putting a match (or attempting to with the slight breeze).  I went up to him and said "that smells pretty good.  What ya smoking in that pipe?"  He'd mentioned that it was one of the inexpensive brands they sell down at the "Smoke Shop" in Bend (I believe it was OHM or Smokers Pride.  Something in that neighborhood).  We talked briefly and about online tobacco', which he was aware of, but appeared to be satisfied with his brand and the price.  We both said goodbye and parted ways (I think he was also waiting for his wife to complete her shopping).

Then, I was returning from a shuttle run at the airport, and while walking to the terminal, I'd noticed an airport worker standing near the "smoking area" with a pipe.  He had finished and was returning to the same entrance.  I said "I noticed you were smoking a pipe, and what type of pipe do you have there?"  He mentioned that it was a small meerschaum a friend had given to him, along with some Borkum Riff. He was enjoying the pipe and trying to rid himself of cigarettes. Again, it was a brief interface and we said goodbye and departed to our work areas.

Scott W  Hey Scott, next time just mosey on over and ask what're smoking.  You can always say that you smoke a pipe too.  You never know

...Probably thought you were trying to pick him up Ted

I admit to being much more social online than in person.

I am not rude to anyone. In fact, I'm quite courteous to anyone who is not unfriendly.
But, at the same time, I try to keep to myself as much as possible.

I nearly always have a pipe in my mouth.
But that's because I like smoking pipes, not because I want to socialize. 😀

Last Christmas I saw two pipe smokers in the same day. Since then I've only seen 1 pipe smoker. In all cases they were in their cars as I was driving past so there was no interaction.

But, as Scott W mentioned, I still felt some kind of connection with them. That's probably just in my mind, but still...

   I grew up there, I know the feeling. Back when you were permitted to smoke in parks, if people noticed I was smoking a cigar, they would go out of there way to avoid me. When smoking a pipe, they’d walk past, some with pleasant remarks.

To be fair, where you live, I get the impression that you can get away without spotting another person for days at a time, if you wanted to.  

you rogue. Lol

I’ve only seen one pipe smoker out in public in the last 5 years. I was pulling out of a grocery store parking lot and he had just walked across the lot and was about to enter the store after putting his pipe in a pocket. If I hadn’t had someone with me & had other chores to do, I woulda parked and gone in to talk with the fellow. - -