Knowledge Really Is Power

If you've seen my blog for one second, then you know how much I love to color with Copic markers.  I often tell students in my Copic classes that my love for markers comes from childhood deprivation.  You see, I HATED coloring as a child.  I was always told that we were too poor to afford the "Crayola" crayons; I always went to school with those HORRIBLE JUMBO 8 pack of crayons that were always too waxy to really deposit good color.  Coloring gave me anxiety and I always felt out of place when it was time to color and my friends would pull out this MONSTER 64 pack of crayons that "EVEN INCLUDED A SHARPENER".  And of course, when my crayons were dulled to flattened perfection, they were so big I couldn't even ask my friends to use their sharpener. My crayons wouldn't fit!  How funny that as an adult, I have VIVID memories of grade school and the horror that was coloring.  So now, moving WELL beyond the waxy color box, I stumble upon blendable ink markers.  And I'm happy to announce that I own 204 Copic Markers, but I still think about that 64 pack of crayons that always eluded me year after year... usually when I'm making a joke about them in my Copic classes.

SO TODAY:  I was heading into my local grocery store to pick up some goodies for tonight's dinner and I walked right past the Crayola display.  Now what do you supposed was on the top shelf, right at eye level?  Yep, you guessed it, the 64 pack of crayons with the built-in sharpener.  It struck me as odd that they were only $3.29..... in 2011, the 64 pack of Crayola crayons with the built-in sharpener was only $3.29!!!  HOW MUCH COULD THEY HAVE BEEN BACK IN 1979, 1980, 1981?  I mean, I was sent to school every day with an extra quarter in my pocket for a carton of milk that I NEVER WOULD BUY because I can't stand milk.  For the life of me, I can't remember where all those quarters went, but they NEVER bought milk.  Now, if I had known to find out how much crayons were back then and saved that quarter daily, I would have owned those crayons that I cried over in just about two weeks (that's at $3.29 which I HIGHLY DOUBT was the case in 1979)!!!

I don't know why all of that just hit me today.  Thinking back on the child who had the means, had the want but didn't know she had the power to have a 64 pack of Crayola crayons WITH sharpener, I'm really sort of stunned.  I could have had those crayons any time I wanted, I just didn't know then how to consider my circumstance, take stock of my resources and get my crayons..... it seems there's a life lesson in there somewhere.  Knowledge is power people.  That is all.