Oh, that temper of yours!”. “Yeah, and I love it!”.

I just love the word “temper.” It is so versatile as a noun and a verb as my opening statement demonstrates. Temper can be that thing that we lose and destroy people and relationships in a “New York minute” or it can be that good quality in steel and people that makes them strong and enduring.

In cooking, tempering is the process of combining two radically different temperatures and slowly combining them until they both arrive at the same temperature. That technique might also work in love, life, relationships, and politics. Think about it!

Depending on which “temper” you are talking about, “temper” is a handy, descriptive word and worthy of consideration. Think about all the principles of temper and apply them to your life. The one that stands out in my life is has to do with metal.

When I was about 14, Daddy traded groceries from our little country store for a forge, anvil, and drill press from an old blacksmith shop that closed down near our house. We set up the shop in our dirt floor basement and connected the exhaust to the chimney.

I never did do all that much blacksmithing but we did have fun making small screwdrivers out of large nails. I would heat them up red hot and flatten one end on the huge log mounted anvil. I would then whittle a handle out of about any good dry branch available.

It didn’t take long to see that these cute little screwdrivers were basically worthless on any stubborn screw.  Little Johnny Hill quickly determined it takes more than heat to make a nail into a screwdriver.

But older and wiser Lester Dee Hill had been down this road before. He told me I need to heat the nail, flatten the end, reheat the nail and immediately dip it in cold water to temper it. That was probably common knowledge but I was just a kid, making it up as I went. I didn’t know!

Tempering the soft steel with “the plunge” actually did make a difference. There are all kinds of life lessons in that but you have probably heard all the sermons anyway. Obviously, besides making a point my hidden motive was to use this occasion to also brag on my shop.

So I confess and will try to temper this discussion with a good end. Nothing comes to mind so see you around the radio tonight, 7 ‘till 11. Actually I go to midnight but who’s counting.

Papa John Hill

P.S.

For those who skip to the end. Today’s word is “TEMPER. We call it “The Wednesday Word”.

Maybe next time we can talk about “temperament”, “temperature” or Mr. Rogers. Let me know and I will be working it.

And if you are in a really big hurry, the absolute last and bottom line…

“heat alone won’t make a nail a screwdriver”. OK to chill after the heat. Sooner, the better.