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I hired a carpenter
to help me restore an old farmhouse.

He 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 refused to start.
While I drove him
home, he sat in stony silence.
On arriving, he invited me 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.
Afterwards 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 isn't nearly
as many as I remember hanging up the night before." |
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