Uncle Robert's Pens

Early last year, Jeff's very favorite uncle gifted me with two pens from his personal collection - a Montblanc 149 and a Namiki Geisha. (Jeff is Mr. P, by the way.)

Things came up and months later, I got around to cleaning and inking the Montblanc. I'd thanked Uncle Robert in email and on the phone for the incredible gifts, but knew I had to write him a proper thank you note using his much-loved pen.

I did that in October. And for some reason, I scanned the note.

Uncle Robert died quite unexpectedly in November.

There are things I want to say about Uncle Robert.

..he and Aunt Suzanne were in love. I'm sure they must have had their moments, but they loved each other. Big love. They were a team.

..he loved Jeff, and Jeff unabashedly loved him. Actually, it's more than that - Jeff admires his uncle. He aspires to be like him - to eventually become the kind of uncle that Robert was to him. Uncle Robert is Jeff's hero.

..Uncle Robert lived. He had some physical limitations, but that didn't stop him from living. He was a passionate bicyclist. He played the lute (the lute!). He loved pens, and knives, and photography, and pipes, and beer, and music, and German shepherd puppies.

And now to circle back to pens...

When I see people write about selling their inherited pens, I cringe. These are such personal items - so full of history and the stories that make up the lives of their owners. Pens take up so little space and it's unlikely that they would raise a significant amount of money.

(Of course, if your family is starving and you're holding on to a $10,000 pen, you're crazy pants.)