Yesterday morning I stepped outside early, early, early. It was light enough to see but not light enough to start getting too hot. So I sat down at the table on my deck to listen to the bees for a while. It was so nice out there that I walked back inside to get the manuscript I’m working on. Give me some paper and a pencil and I’m pretty happy.
That got me to thinking about the common pencil. It’s a truly marvelous invention, and it’s been around since 1565. Anything that’s lasted that long must have a few things going for it. Here are just a few I thought of. Let me know if you can think of any others.
1. A pencil is portable.
2. It runs without batteries. For that matter, it can run without brains, but I hope that’s not the case here.
3. It has an eraser, the 1565 version of a delete key.
4. It provides a handy canvas for tooth imprints. I’ve never known anyone who hasn’t occasionally chewed on a pencil. What computer keyboard gives you that kind of alleviation? I don’t group solitaire, Pac-Man, or minesweeper in the same league with a yellow number 2 Ticonderoga.
5. It can be thrown across the path / room / deck when simple deletion or chewing is not active enough (see numbers 3 and 4 above).
6. It can be sharpened without a fancy gadget. My Swiss Army knife works just fine. In a pinch I can even sacrifice a fingernail to tear the wood back away from the graphite.
7. It can be broken in half to fit in a tiny notebook or a small pocket. Of course, this eliminates the delete function of one-half of it.
8. And, since it doesn’t beep or ring, it will never scare my bees.
What a handy little tool!
BEEattitude for Day # 305:
Blessed are those who use pencils, for we bees appreciate their silence.
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