This was just sent to me by an old friend. I hadn't heard it before. But it seemed relevant to this board, since at times we say things (and I know I am one of them) that anger others. A little food for thought?

There once was a little boy who
had a bad temper. His Father gave
him a bag of nails and told him that
every time he lost his temper, he
must hammer a nail into the back of the
fence.

The first day the boy had driven
37 nails into the fence. Over the
next few weeks, as he learned to
control his anger, the number of nails
hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He
discovered it was easier to hold his temper
than to drive those nails into the fence...

Finally the day came when the boy
didn't lose his temper at all. He
told his father about it and the
father suggested that the boy now pull
out one nail for each day that he was
able to hold his temper.

The day passed and the young boy
was finally able to tell his father
that all the nails were gone. The
father took his son by the hand and led
him to the fence. He said, "You have done well,
my son, but look at the holes in the
fence.

The fence will never be the same.
When you say things in anger, they
leave a scar just like this one. You
can put a knife in a man and draw it
out. It won't matter how many times you
say I'm sorry, the wound is still there.
"A verbal wound is as bad as a
physical one. Friends are a very rare
jewel indeed. They make you smile and
encourage you to succeed. They lend
an ear, they share words of praise
and they always want to open their
hearts to us.

"It's National Friendship Week.
Show your friends how much you care.

Send this to everyone you consider a
FRIEND, even if it means sending it
back to the person who sent it to you.
If it comes back to you, then
you'll know you have a circle of friends.

HAPPY FRIENDSHIP WEEK TO YOU!!!!!
YOU ARE MY FRIEND AND I AM HONORED!

Please forgive me if I have ever
left a hole in your fence,,,