"The pen is mightier than the sword" always meant to me that violence could be overcome through words -- that thought and knowledge would bring peace.

But as I've watched the world the last few years I'm realizing how simply and incompletely I understood the phrase. Language is not good or evil; it is simply powerful. Its power is to make us *do*, in the service of good, or evil, or love, or hate.

The pen is mightier than the sword, in that one word can raise a thousand swords.

Sneaking an hour to have a #pipe, since I was going to have lunch with a friend who had car trouble and had to cancel. It's only 19 degF here so any pipes must happen while the sun is up and my #smoking lounge (aka my car) is above freezing inside!

Having a tobacco blend I forgot I had, by a company that is no longer in business, McClelland's Penman's Choice. It's a mix of cavendish and burley with a traditional casing and a coffee topping, maybe a slight hint of cherry. Quite nice!