If I were to ask you, “What’s the best birthday present you ever received?” What would your answer be? A vacation? A car? A Barbie doll or a GI Joe action figure? The answer obviously depends on your age and interests. But what if instead, I asked you, “What gift has had the most impact on your life?” How different would your answer be?
 
On my tenth birthday, my family gathered in our TV room to celebrate. While I don’t recall all the gifts I received, one item stands out after all these years.
 
My paternal grandfather had given me a fancy, thick dictionary, complete with illustrations and pictures. Now, I’m sure I received other gifts that trumped a dictionary—toys, Star Wars action figures, books I wanted to read—but the dictionary is what I remember.
 
Why?
 
In part, because it was from my grandfather, but it’s also what he inscribed on the inside title page:
 
“Tim, this book contains all the words to the next great American novel. All you have to do is rearrange them.”
 
At that young age, I already knew I wanted to be an author. Every time I finished writing something, I asked my grandfather to edit it for me. He would reply each time: “Sure. First let me get a gallon of red ink.” Besides editing, he also had a natural way of pulling ideas out of me and getting me to think creatively.
 
My first book, published in 1996, was on the history of the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Connecticut. The manuscript went through revision after revision, and my grandfather faithfully read each one. Twenty-eight years later, I don’t recall his exact edits, critiques, and suggestions, but I do remember he likely used a “gallon of red ink.”
 
The next step in the process was to promote my Goodspeed book. While conducting a reading at R.J. Julia Booksellers, my grandfather was in attendance. As I wrapped up my presentation, it was Q&A time. My grandfather proceeded to ask question after question after question. Most of his questions were about sections he had suggested rewriting, so basically, he was testing me. Other than my immediate family, no one in the room knew he was my grandfather. Luckily for me, I still have a tape of this presentation, which contains his voice asking all his questions.
 
I remember my grandfather’s birthday gift as the best gift ever, not because it was a dictionary or the whimsical inscription. No, the true gift was his life-long support and belief in me and my writing.
 
While I truly miss his wisdom, advice, and “gallon of red ink,” I will always know he believed in me and my writing.

 

T.M. Jacobs, a native to the shoreline area of Connecticut, now resides in various locations along the east coast with his wife traveling and working from their RV motorhome. He has written and published 15 books (one of which was featured on C-SPAN), over 450 articles published in various newspapers and magazines, teaches classes on writing and publishing, and is currently the owner of JWC Publishing. He is the founder and former editor for Patriots of the American Revolution magazine and has been a freelance writer since 1988.  

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Website: www.jacobswc.com

Email: [email protected]