I need your help. . .
It’ll just take a minute
by John Mooy
This has been a while ago, but I was reminded of it numerous times since the time when it happened.
It was quite early on a Saturday morning when I heard the door open and someone coming up the steps. Turns out it was Wendy’s dad and when he got to the top of the steps he hollered, “I need your help, it’ll just take a minute.”
“Okay, I’ll be right down.” So, I went with Wendy’s dad and he told me he had his tractor stuck and he’d need help getting it “unstuck.” So, we walked across the yard to his house, and I immediately spotted the problem. There was the tractor and the word “stuck” was putting it mildly. I would have used the word, “buried.”
This story would make a little more sense if you had known Wendy’s father. He was a master at using ropes and pulleys to the point where he probably could have rigged something up to move a pyramid. He had ropes tied around a number of trees and then he had harnessed the tractor to the point he was ready to work his “pulley magic.” It hadn’t worked and he wanted to explain to me what he thought “WE” should do next. After listening to his explanation, I thought to myself I don’t want to spend an entire day getting his tractor unstuck.
So, I thought to myself I could probably lift the back of the tractor out of the hole, move to the front of the tractor and lift that out as well. And then I could move into my day. I should mention the tractor was more along the lines of a riding mower. Although the image of me moving a John Deere or Allis Chalmers by myself would have been quite impressive.
I grabbed the back end of the tractor and lifting with my legs I was able to move the back end out of the hole. In mere moments I was able to do the same thing with the front of the tractor completely freeing it from the hole. Wendy’s dad told me he was quite impressed suggesting I might be fairly strong.
As I headed back home, it became all too clear to me that my back might have been ruined for life. Just a minute had turned into the next two days spent on the couch in a horizontal position. It’ll just take a while to be functioning and in an upright position again.
Because of the experience that day, any time someone suggests they might need help and indicate it won’t take long I’m reminded of the tractor story. This story of help and the time required continues to repeat itself.
Just last week the railing on the deck was broken. The post that anchored the railing needed to be reattached to the side of the deck and the railings had also come loose. I evaluated the situation and came to the conclusion that I could fix the railing with the drill and new screws.
This job would only take a matter of minutes… why did I think that?
On Saturday morning my friend Pat came over, and it should be noted he is much more skilled in the area of carpentry than I am. He looked at the situation and went back home for tools.
He told me he would be back in a matter of minutes. Actually, he was.
His prime concern was sturdiness, while I have to admit mine was more like getting it done as fast as possible. My fix would no doubt last through the summer season but as I watched him work his would last for years most likely.
So, it was in a matter of hours the project had been completed. His work fulfilled the phrase, “when in doubt make it stout.”
So, the real question is what constitutes a “few” minutes? Is it ten, sixty, three hundred? Who knows, certainly not me.
My idea now is going to be when asking for help from someone I’m going to say, “You might really enjoy this project,” and when they ask what it is I’ll tell them and no doubt they will help me and say, “why not, it’ll just take a few minutes.”
Have a great week, Marcellus.
You’re the best.
“Nailed it!”
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