Please make sure you read all the way down to the last sentence.  (Most
importantly. read the last sentence). 

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a
bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must
hammer a nail into the back of the fence. 

The first day, the boy drove 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few
weeks, as he learned to control anger, the number of nails hammered
daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his
temper than to drive those nails into the fence. 

Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told
his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out
one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. 

The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father
that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and
led him to the fence. He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at
the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say
things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a
knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say
I'm sorry, the wound is still there." 

A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one. Friends are very rare
jewels,indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They
lend an ear, they share words of praise and they always want to open
their hearts to us. 

It's National Friendship Week. Show your friends how much you care. Send this to everyone you consider a Friend, even if it means sending it back to the person who sent it to you. If it comes back to you, then you'll 
know you have a circle of friends. 

HAPPY FRIENDSHIP WEEK TO YOU. YOU ARE MY FRIEND. Now send this to every friend you have, and to your family. 

Please forgive me if I have ever left a hole in your fence.