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The Trouble Tree
The carpenter I hired to help me restore an old farmhouse had just finished a rough first day on the job.
A flat tire made him lose an hour of work, his electric saw quit and now his ancient pickup truck refused
to start.
While I drove him home, he sat in stony silence. On arriving, he invited me in to meet his family. As we
walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands.
When opening the door, he underwent an amazing transformation. His tanned face was wreathed in smiles and
he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss.
Afterward he walked me to the car. We passed the tree and my
curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier.
"Oh, that's my trouble tree," he replied. "I know I can't help having troubles on the job, but one thing for
sure, troubles don't belong in the house with my wife and the children. So I just hang them up on the tree every night when I come home. Then in the morning I pick them up again.
"Funny thing is," he smiled, "when I come out in the morning to pick
them up, there aren't nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before."
* Sayings:
My lament
This is a story about four people: Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.
There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it.
Anybody could have done it, but nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that
because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but
Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it. It ended that Everybody blamed
Somebody when actually Nobody asked Anybody.
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