Pencil Perfect

A lot of people use pencils because they plan to erase. I have always been a pen person. I just cross out the word if needed. On this afternoon that threatens rain, I sit in our new home in Las Vegas and put things away, including a Blackwing 602 pencil from Eberhard Faber. I have this pencil because my piano teacher, Mrs. Gianapolis, a passionate Greek, used them in my lessons. They have a unique look due to the narrow slab of eraser. EF stopped producing them and they are now made by Palomino.

I love music but I am not a "music person." Meaning, I am not a tortured Beethoven. I may be tortured, but don't call me Beethoven. I took piano lessons from three different people and flute lessons from one person. They helped shaped my life. I remember on this gray afternoon in the warm home, that I laid my head down and cried at a lesson with Mrs. Gianapolis. I don't remember why but some things can become too much. She was a woman with dramatic short grey hair and short fingernails. She loved these pencils and wrote easily, gliding over my music pages. I have had several of these pencils but not used them. I somehow feel I don't deserve to use them. I am fine with a common No. 2. For years, I favored a pencil painted white with pink letters, "Sugar Paper".