I have never been a great writer and I want to be better. This is born both out of a general desire for self-improvement and maybe more importantly, to make my grandfather slightly proud. Nelson P. Farquhar was very cerebral and quite the academic. He set a high intellectual standard.
This was after my college graduation ceremony which I am guessing was a point of pride, surprise and relief to my grandfather.
When I was in high school, English was not my best subject. I went to a good prep school and the classes were pretty rigorous. My grandfather taught at this school for most of his career as a teacher, ran the English department and was also the Headmaster for a few years as well. I am relatively certain my writing skills and grammar knowledge were disappointing to him. In an attempt to keep the family's good academic reputation in tact, he put in a considerable amount of time drilling me about writing strategies, sentence structure and lots of grammar. He was both very patient and determined. I have very clear memories of sitting at his desk, which I use now, for hours and hours in the den of his condominium.
Well what can I say, Mr. Poirot was a bit of a ball buster, but for the most part, I earned that grade.
My grandfather would also write me letters with some regularity; a tradition that is quickly disappearing. My children and I think their generation in general, is considerably removed from the notion of communicating with a hand-written letter. Further, the skill and effort required to crank out even one page, in one shot, either by hand or using a typewriter, is something I have never witnessed and suspect they will never do. Nelson P. Farquhar was very accomplished in all forms of the written word. He would send letters pretty regularly when I was at camp, college and moved to California. Further, every major event, and often minor ones as well, would be acknowledged with a thank you note. And they were quite good in content, structure, and of course grammar; but who am I to judge the last two. He wrote to me because of his genuine affection for me, and writing letters is what his generation did. I am sure there was also a desire to show me how it was properly done. Once a teacher, always a teacher.
All of my grandfather's efforts certainly have had some benefit. Since it has been about twenty years since he passed away, my father, also very academically accomplished, has carried the torch of English, grammar and speech excellence. So to both of them, but mostly my grandfather, thank you for your persistence and help. Hopefully, all the posts that follow will reflect all his effort, to some degree.