1. If I Had a Pencil
If I had a pencil in my hand and a piece of paper in front of me, I might scribble something. A big soft-leaded pencil, maybe, that could make dark black lines across the page.
Except that isn’t true.
I wouldn’t make dark black marks. And if I had a brush, I wouldn’t paint dark strokes. I might do something with black paper, cutting out geometric shapes (little triangles and trapezoids). But even then, when I got done, I just don’t think the thing would be dark. Sure, there’d be black. But there’d be lots of colors. And lots of shapes. And there would be movement across the page like maybe a breeze blowing. Or someone walking across the lawn. Or a path thru the woods.
But not dark.
And anyway, I don’t have a pencil right now. No paper on the table. No brush. No scissors to cut with. And my digital tablet is sitting under a clutter of miscellany that really needs to be organized.
2. The Thing of It
So here’s the thing of it. There’s no easy way to say it. I have cancer. Again.
A swollen lymph node on my neck that’s kind of hard to miss. I wonder if the forth graders noticed. Cancer growing at the base of my tongue. The doctors have seen it in scans. And biopsies.
There’s a treatment plan coming together. I’ll be spending some quality time in Houston. Taking some time off work.
So maybe I’ll get a chance to put that pencil in my hand after all.