The carpenter I hired to help me restore an old farm
house has just finished a rough day on the job. A flat tyre had made him lose
an hour of work, his electric saw quit and now his ancient 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 to 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. Later, he walked me back to my car. We
passed the tree and my curiosity got the better of me; so 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 at home 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.'
'The 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'.
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"If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is
on fire, then you got a problem. Everything else is inconvenience".
~ Robert Fulghum
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