Pencils

Did you ever here the saying "As the pencil goes, so goes the country"?  Well, of course not, I just made it up.  The saying seems to be true.  Have you looked at a pencil lately.  The pen(cil) is mightier than the sword was heard around the world as a catch phrase for peace, intelligence and dignity.  The once mighty pencil was made of cedar and a special kind of cedar.  This special wood was selected because it did not splinter when sharpened with the standard old pencil sharpener.    It was hollowed out and filled with a graphite and clay mixture.  When I was a kid, you could sharpen a pencil with your name on it as sharp and strong as a dagger.  I still have a piece of lead in my palm from a fourth grade misadventure with a pencil. 

Last night, I was sharpening some pencils for my grandkids.  I found three or four different types of pencils.  Some were very light and I am pretty sure some of them were not even made of wood.  Cedar was no where to be found.  They also were thinner in diameter.  Come to think of it, the only place I can find anything that resembles a real pencil is on the golf course.  Those little wooden things they give you with your score card are still a real pencil.  The tees are cheap, fake wood but those pencils are still real.  As I sharpened the pencils for the kids, I noticed the shavings were not spiraling off like they should.  What a joy it was in grade school to sharpen the pencil with one of those little razor blades in a plastic thing and then play with the shavings.  Getting that special edge on the lead was an art form and specific for each person and project.  I put a nice point on the oldest child's pencil.  He can keep from pushing down too hard and breaking the damn tip off.  The other two kids got shorter, stronger points.  They still mashed the paper when they wrote.

At least one of the pencils that I was sharpening got thrown away for being a gigantic piece of crap wood substitute.  It had lead like lipstick and was continuously breaking while sharpening.  I should have looked up the name of the manufacturer of that hunk of hyena poop but I was afraid it would be a US manufacturer and I was not prepared for that trauma at the moment.  One of the other pencils is not long for this world because the wood was so soft and thin the entire stick bent while writing.  Do not get me started about crayons.  They do not even taste the same.

With all of the texting and electronic mail, writing is becoming a lost art.  Spelling is also going the way of grammar and dictation.  I feel there will be a resurgence of being literate soon.  It may still be electronic but there will be none of that texting shorthand nonsense.  The pencil will still be around and our children will still not be able to run through the house with it.  Although as I look at my palm, I do not think a pencil can even break the skin anymore.  It will just smear in my hand like a crayon.  Do not get me started.