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 had driven 37 nails into the 
fence. 
Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his 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 a very rare jewel 
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."