Ron, a nine-year-old boy, was being raised by his mother who didn’t know how to cope with his uncontrollable temper. She knew he was angry that his father had abandoned him. She tried professional counseling, but nothing seemed to work.

So she sent Ron to spend the summer on his grandparents’ farm. When he came home, he was a changed boy. His mom asked him what happened.

Ron told her that every time he got mad or said anything unkind, Grandpa Hal made him go outside and hammer a two-inch nail into a two-by-four. It was really hard, and he wasn’t allowed back until the nail was all the way in. After about 20 trips to the shed, he decided it was easier to control his temper than hammer in those nails.

"Did you hate the consequence so much that you just changed?" his mom asked.

"Well, that was part of it," he answered. "After I’d hit in all those nails and was behaving pretty good, Grandma Grace took me outside and made me pull them all out. That was just as hard. When I was done, she gave me this note I’ve been carrying around."

The note said:

Pulling out nails is like saying you’re sorry, but the holes you made in the board remain. You can’t fix what you do by being sorry, but you can stop making new holes. Remember, every time you do something mean and nasty, you’re making a hole somewhere, in someone. That’s what your Dad did to you. Please don’t do that to anyone else. You’re better than that.

"You know what, Mom?" Ron said. "Grandma was right. I am better than that."

This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.