A cigar is, of course, much more than just a smoke, as the English poet Rudyard Kipling so wittily pointed out. It takes on aspects of ritual: a respite from the everyday routine, a moment of relaxation and reflection, a pause for individual pleasure. Writing with a fountain pen partakes of this same style of ceremony. It allows us to step away from the rush and pull of routine, to commune with ourselves and our own thoughts before we convey them to others. It presents us with an escape from the habitual and humdrum, and presents an opportunity for the personal and singular.
