I have decided I am a heathen at heart.Forgive me!

[avalancher]

You know, I like to help my fellow man as much as anyone else, or at least I thought I did.

Yesterday I participated in a clean up for a local resident sponsored by our church's youth ministry, and namely the idea was for me to show up, knock some trees down, cut em up, and let the kids haul the debris to the road. I was told ahead of time that it was for an elderly lady who just didnt have the means to help herself, and I willingly took the day off to be there.

The day before I went to the home to look things over and decide what equipment to bring along, and had a chance to meet the "elderly lady" and was surprised to see that she wasnt much older than me(I am 44). Maybe my definition of "old" could use some work? Maybe I am now considered old?
At any rate, I decided that since i was committed to the project, I would show up, but I would later have a word with our youth ministry about who should be considered worthy of our time, although in reality it really isnt my business I guess.Showed up an hour early to get some brush on the ground and almost immediately was put into position to change my mind.
First it was the badgering.
"look out for those power lines going through all the trees."
"Be careful with that chainsaw, you are acting awful reckless"
"Are you sure you should be wearing short pants?" (I was wearing shorts with chaps on over them, it was 98 degrees out and 100 percent humidity.)

Finally the kids and other adults showed up, and we worked for a couple of hours and broke for dinner at 6 when the pastor showed up with pizza for the whole crew. And dang it all, the old gal came out of the air conditioned house, scooped up a pizza box, and went back in the house!

I thought WTF? We are busting our hump out here cleaning up your place, and you take our dinner? I was glad it was hot out at that point because I really dont feel like eating much when I am hot, but it would have been nice to have something more than the scrapings off the pizza box for some dinner.Its amazing how fast teenagers can wipe out a pizza pie.Take five seconds to get to the box and its gone.
An hour later I came around the front of the house, and there was our beneficiary scooping gatorades out of the cooler and filling her shirt, and as she carted as many drinks into the house as she could carry in her bulging shirt, she told me she just loves Gatorade.WTF? We are busting our hump out here cleaning up your place, and you take our drinks?

Finally as dark approached we called it good and loaded our tools up, and i took the chance to take a quick inventory to make sure everything had gotten back to my truck. Just as I figured it was time to locate my daughter and hit the road, our beneficiary came up to me and wanted to know if I could knock down two more trees, this time in the front of the house.It was dark, i was tired, and ready to head home, but after some pleading from our youth leader I quietly dragged the 372 out of the truck and knocked em both down, bucked em up, and prayed that I wouldnt cut my foot off in the dark. And I just couldnt help but think, "We are busting our hump out here cleaning up your place, and you arent satisfied?"

You would think that would be the end of it, but it wasnt. Then it was trim up a hydragea in the dark, prune back a dogwood, and i finally said I aint doing a dang thing more.Its 930 at night, I have been humping brush, vines, and trash for the past six hours with nothing to eat, and I am going home.

The more I thought about it, the more ticked I got, and as I joined the group yacking out by the roadside, I put my thoughts out there for a few of the other guys, and was surprised at their response.I figured that if the homeowner wasn't old, she ought to be out there helping, and they were appalled at my callousness. I figured that if we were doing the work, we should be fed and watered first, and if there was anything left someone else could walk off with it.Again, I was met with blank stares. I figured that if a pro showed up to help you out, you ought to let the man do his job and keep your yap shut unless it was plain to see that he had no idea what he was doing.Again, the blank stares.

Sorry for the long post, but I needed to get that off my chest. I wish in my heart I could be more like others and freely give of myself even if the recipient isn't so thankful or worthy.

 

[TonyK]

Another fine example of "No good deed goes unpunished"

 

[Muffler Bearing]

Of course she was wondering if you knew what you where doing.

1: You showed up in shorts

2: You had a Husky

3: You wheren't smart enough to get paid for your labor

4:You drove your Prius to the job


















:hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:


otstir:

 

[lone wolf]

You know, I like to help my fellow man as much as anyone else, or at least I thought I did.

Yesterday I participated in a clean up for a local resident sponsored by our church's youth ministry, and namely the idea was for me to show up, knock some trees down, cut em up, and let the kids haul the debris to the road. I was told ahead of time that it was for an elderly lady who just didnt have the means to help herself, and I willingly took the day off to be there.

The day before I went to the home to look things over and decide what equipment to bring along, and had a chance to meet the "elderly lady" and was surprised to see that she wasnt much older than me(I am 44). Maybe my definition of "old" could use some work? Maybe I am now considered old?
At any rate, I decided that since i was committed to the project, I would show up, but I would later have a word with our youth ministry about who should be considered worthy of our time, although in reality it really isnt my business I guess.Showed up an hour early to get some brush on the ground and almost immediately was put into position to change my mind.
First it was the badgering.
"look out for those power lines going through all the trees."
"Be careful with that chainsaw, you are acting awful reckless"
"Are you sure you should be wearing short pants?" (I was wearing shorts with chaps on over them, it was 98 degrees out and 100 percent humidity.)

Finally the kids and other adults showed up, and we worked for a couple of hours and broke for dinner at 6 when the pastor showed up with pizza for the whole crew. And dang it all, the old gal came out of the air conditioned house, scooped up a pizza box, and went back in the house!

I thought WTF? We are busting our hump out here cleaning up your place, and you take our dinner? I was glad it was hot out at that point because I really dont feel like eating much when I am hot, but it would have been nice to have something more than the scrapings off the pizza box for some dinner.Its amazing how fast teenagers can wipe out a pizza pie.Take five seconds to get to the box and its gone.
An hour later I came around the front of the house, and there was our beneficiary scooping gatorades out of the cooler and filling her shirt, and as she carted as many drinks into the house as she could carry in her bulging shirt, she told me she just loves Gatorade.WTF? We are busting our hump out here cleaning up your place, and you take our drinks?

Finally as dark approached we called it good and loaded our tools up, and i took the chance to take a quick inventory to make sure everything had gotten back to my truck. Just as I figured it was time to locate my daughter and hit the road, our beneficiary came up to me and wanted to know if I could knock down two more trees, this time in the front of the house.It was dark, i was tired, and ready to head home, but after some pleading from our youth leader I quietly dragged the 372 out of the truck and knocked em both down, bucked em up, and prayed that I wouldnt cut my foot off in the dark. And I just couldnt help but think, "We are busting our hump out here cleaning up your place, and you arent satisfied?"

You would think that would be the end of it, but it wasnt. Then it was trim up a hydragea in the dark, prune back a dogwood, and i finally said I aint doing a dang thing more.Its 930 at night, I have been humping brush, vines, and trash for the past six hours with nothing to eat, and I am going home.

The more I thought about it, the more ticked I got, and as I joined the group yacking out by the roadside, I put my thoughts out there for a few of the other guys, and was surprised at their response.I figured that if the homeowner wasn't old, she ought to be out there helping, and they were appalled at my callousness. I figured that if we were doing the work, we should be fed and watered first, and if there was anything left someone else could walk off with it.Again, I was met with blank stares. I figured that if a pro showed up to help you out, you ought to let the man do his job and keep your yap shut unless it was plain to see that he had no idea what he was doing.Again, the blank stares.

Sorry for the long post, but I needed to get that off my chest. I wish in my heart I could be more like others and freely give of myself even if the recipient isn't so thankful or worthy.

Man I wish I was there because she would have had to fight me for the
Gatoraide in that heat .What the hell kind of person acts like that? I could see it if you were getting 50.00 an hour.I got to tell you interesting story but sorry you had that to deal with it. I can not believe she took the Gator aide and pizza!!!!

 

[Hoytster]

I know where you are coming from and agree with you totally. If someone isn't greatful for any help they receive, then they don't deserve to be helped. Sounds to me the "old lady' wasn't an old lady, but a lazy 50+ year old lady who thought she was owed something. I have no tolerance for laziness.

I have a neighbor that is 65 years old and does the same stuff. He doesn't mow the lawn or do anything except drink beer. He constantly talks about how "old" he is and how he can't do stuff (been like this for 15 years). The only reason he can't do stuff is because all he has been doing for 50 years is drink and party. Meanwhile, my 85 year old farming grandfather wakes up everyday at 3am and goes out to the fields.

But at least my neighbor is grateful when I do stuff for him and pays me in beer. Which keeps me plenty happy!

 

[audible fart]

My practical joker athiest aunt told me to tell you "thanks for the yardwork and pizza, Flanders!"

 

[avalancher]

dont get me wrong, I think in reality she needed some help in getting that yard under control. For even a healthy man it would have been quite a task.There was a tremendous amount of ivy growing up among the brush trees, and it wore us slap out trying to pull those trees down.The thing that puzzled me was the reaction of others when I mentioned how I felt about the whole deal.

I cant say I was griping, it was more of a "I was surprised how our beneficiary walked off with the food and drinks" kinda comment, sprinkled in with, "I sure get aggravated when folks who have no idea which end to grab tell me how I should be operating a saw" and it surprised me when I was met with blank stares.During a more deep conversation with one of the guys, he flat out told me that I shouldn't consider the worthiness of a beneficiary but should just concentrate on the good feelings of helping someone out.

My inward thought on that?Well, I figured that if a group of folks showed up to help me, I would half kill myself to at least drag some brush to the road, make sure everyone was welcome in to use the bathroom(we had a number of teenage girls in the crew that I am positive would have appreciated the use of a bathroom)and I would have been hauling grub and water OUT of the house in my effort to show my appreciation.

I wish I had the capability to be a more forgiving and loving kinda guy, and to have more compassion for my fellow man. I had a long talk with my daughter when we got home, and she was also rather appalled at my lack of compassion.I figure if you can walk upright for any distance, you can pull brush. And if you want to talk to me, then come outside in the blistering heat instead of hollering at me through the window from your air conditioned house.

 

[avalancher]

My practical joker athiest aunt told me to tell you "thanks for the yardwork and pizza, Flanders!"

And tell your practical joker atheist aunt that the last thing I did was sneak around the house afterwards and peed all over her new lawn recliner. After all, I wanted the ole gal to have something to remember me by.Tried to squeeze out a deuce, but just didn't have the groceries stored up enough to come up with one.

 

[lone wolf]

dont get me wrong, I think in reality she needed some help in getting that yard under control. For even a healthy man it would have been quite a task.There was a tremendous amount of ivy growing up among the brush trees, and it wore us slap out trying to pull those trees down.The thing that puzzled me was the reaction of others when I mentioned how I felt about the whole deal.

I cant say I was griping, it was more of a "I was surprised how our beneficiary walked off with the food and drinks" kinda comment, sprinkled in with, "I sure get aggravated when folks who have no idea which end to grab tell me how I should be operating a saw" and it surprised me when I was met with blank stares.During a more deep conversation with one of the guys, he flat out told me that I shouldn't consider the worthiness of a beneficiary but should just concentrate on the good feelings of helping someone out.

My inward thought on that?Well, I figured that if a group of folks showed up to help me, I would half kill myself to at least drag some brush to the road, make sure everyone was welcome in to use the bathroom(we had a number of teenage girls in the crew that I am positive would have appreciated the use of a bathroom)and I would have been hauling grub and water OUT of the house in my effort to show my appreciation.

I wish I had the capability to be a more forgiving and loving kinda guy, and to have more compassion for my fellow man. I had a long talk with my daughter when we got home, and she was also rather appalled at my lack of compassion.I figure if you can walk upright for any distance, you can pull brush. And if you want to talk to me, then come outside in the blistering heat instead of hollering at me through the window from your air conditioned house.

All those that said anything about the way you acted need to split wood today under your supervision then take their drinks away

 

[hanniedog]

You surely are a heathen how dare you think that someone should acctually be greatful for the work that your group did. Being the heathen that I am I do believe that lady would surely have been told where to head. You bent over backwards and then some to be nice to this person and all she wanted was more.

 

[lone wolf]

You surely are a heathen how dare you think that someone should acctually be greatful for the work that your group did. Being the heathen that I am I do believe that lady would surely have been told where to head. You bent over backwards and then some to be nice to this person and all she wanted was more.

Why is it that no good deed goes unpunished? Seriously
i have noticed this over the years!

 

[avalancher]

Why is it that no good deed goes unpunished? Seriously
i have noticed this over the years!

It kinda seems that way sometimes doesnt it?For years I vowed to never stop and help anyone along the road after almost getting arrested for helping a young lady.She went off the road, I pulled her out with my truck, then she said I damaged her car and called the cops.next thing I knew the cop wanted my insurance info, and it was the only time I can remember ever getting in the face of law enforcement while sober.


Seriously though, it was not the actions of the old gal, I kinda expect folks to be that way anymore.Give em something, and they want more.What surprised me was the reaction of the others there. They all thought she was the sweetest thing and they were so glad to help her out, and didnt seem to mind that their biggest workhorse went without dinner cause she walked off with it, along with three teenage girls that didnt move fast enough.
They thought it was humorous that she wanted two more trees to come down even if it was after dark, and kidded her that "maybe he will drop em the wrong way in the dark and you will get a new house out of the deal."(as if my insurance would cover that, can you imagine trying to put that one past an adjuster?I was cutting this tree after dark,and couldnt see the house...)

 

[blacklocst]

when are you going back to buck, split & stack the wood for her?

 

[mdotis]

I agree

I even find it hard to give to the local food shelf when I know that most of the people who "shop" there have better cell phones and more cable channels than I do. I think it should be a requirement that to get any kind of government help you cannot own a cell phone and cannot have cable. That would lower the number of people in line for hand outs........ And don't even get me started on drug testing for these people......

 

[avalancher]

when are you going back to buck, split & stack the wood for her?

:hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:

My friend, there aint enough karma in the world to make me go back over there again. The rest of the crew was discussing going back over there to scrape and paint the outside of the house for her, and I flat out said, "Nope, sorry.I will be busy that day.And the day after that. And after that too."


While I am on a petty streak, here is something else that pissed me off. During the brush and ivy pulling, we discovered an old Snapper rototiller minus the engine.Been sitting there for twenty years.I thought, "perfect, just what I need, I got an engine.A little cleanup of the gear box and some sandblasting and paint and I got a new tiller again."
Old gal said no way, she wanted to keep it.It used to be her fathers, and she might have use for it.

Use for it?with no engine?Even admitted she had no idea it was buried back there, and hadnt seen it in over twenty years...yeah, I was pissed at that point.I know you shouldnt expect payment when helping others, but there is such a thing as what is right is right.Yeah, I know.I am just being petty here.

 

[lone wolf]

:hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:

My friend, there aint enough karma in the world to make me go back over there again. The rest of the crew was discussing going back over there to scrape and paint the outside of the house for her, and I flat out said, "Nope, sorry.I will be busy that day.And the day after that. And after that too."


While I am on a petty streak, here is something else that pissed me off. During the brush and ivy pulling, we discovered an old Snapper rototiller minus the engine.Been sitting there for twenty years.I thought, "perfect, just what I need, I got an engine.A little cleanup of the gear box and some sandblasting and paint and I got a new tiller again."
Old gal said no way, she wanted to keep it.It used to be her fathers, and she might have use for it.

Use for it?with no engine?Even admitted she had no idea it was buried back there, and hadnt seen it in over twenty years...yeah, I was pissed at that point.I know you shouldnt expect payment when helping others, but there is such a thing as what is right is right.Yeah, I know.I am just being petty here.

You are right she will never use it.People are unbelievable.sounds lazy to me.

 

[TonyK]

Why does no good deed go unpunished?

Because there are people out there who are no good oxygen thieves whose entire reason for being on this earth is to breed like mold, sponge off others, expect a free ride and to poison every drop of human kindness. The rest of us are just really poor at identifying them and set ourselves up for feelings of guilt whenever we do something worthwhile for the worthless.

Avalancher if you really want to feel like you wasted your time you should drive back by the house in six months or a year and see what shape the yard is in. I’ll bet you a box of doughnuts it will be in bad shape.
Sorry I must be in a mood today.

 

[lone wolf]

I think you may be right especially about the place going to hell but im betting a month.

 

[promac850]

Avalancher, you're probably gonna trip over a real Gardenway built Troy-Bilt Horse tiller someday for some ridiculous steal of a deal. Forget that pos Snapper. :msp_smile:

Trust me, it's a much better tiller than some Snappoffer ever would be...

It' weird how everything goes, but it's worth it in the end. #### will happen, and you may not think it's right or whatnot, but it usually pays off in spades later.

Here's some true story about no good deed goes unpunished... when I was in high school (it was a Catholic private high school, complete with cute girls wearing plaid skirts...) I donated about 110 bucks over the course of one year to the HTN donation box.

When I graduated HS, I banked almost 1100 bucks... mostly cash, only 100 was a gift card, and that was to Sears for Craftsman tools...

Talk about paying off in spades...

Another experience... I got suckered into handing out about 40 (yes, stupid me...) bucks to someone that may or may have not been ripping me off... later I stumbled upon a part time job, and made 400 bucks.

Hmm... Karma is indeed real.

God still is king though... :msp_smile:

Funny and weird #### happens in life, but supposedly, after we drop dead and get planted, it all makes sense...

 

[mga]

so, avalancher, what did you learn?

i'm willing to bet that woman has a connection at the church and this "act of helping" was at the suggestion of one of the church members.

as much as i like ya, you get no sympathy from me. you should know better.