Grandpa's Pencil

It's been many many years since my grandpa passed away…. years since his sweet smile and sage advice reached me… but whenever I pick up a pencil I remember one lesson he tried to teach me… Grandpa was old-school…he'd say, "You should always carry a pencil wherever you may go… because a pencil will help remind you of four things you need to know." Grandpa loved learning…loved wisdom…and on this subject he would harp… He'd say, "You need to keep learning every day because your mind, like this pencil, works best when it is sharp." He'd point to the eraser saying, "Everybody makes mistakes…when you do…stand up tall and meet them…. learn from each mistake…and try not to repeat them." With the pencil in his hand and his fingers around it lovingly curled…. He'd say, "Always do your best to leave a kind and gentle mark upon the world." Then holding the pencil up he'd say, "When you view others always take into account…. Just like this pencil…whatever the outside looks like…it's what's inside that counts." And though he's been gone for many years whenever I think about him I can see the impact he made upon my life….the mark he left on me. I like how he was always trying to teach me… keeping me as he liked to say…'up to speed'. and how when I want to think about him… a pencil is all I need.