Angela lived in a nice neighborhood.  Late one Friday night,
a violent storm tore through her neighborhood, causing
considerable damage.  When Angela got up the next morning,
she discovered that a large tree which had stood in her back
yard, had been uprooted.  There was no perceivable damage;
but the tree was lying across her driveway, blocking the
entrance to her garage.

Angela wondered how she could best dispose of the fallen tree.
She knew it would be expensive to have professionals remove
it.  Then she thought of her friend, Erik.  They had dated several
times; and, yes, they had even been intimate on a few
occasions.  Erik owned a pickup truck and a chain saw.
Perhaps he would be willing to take the tree away for her.

When Erik answered the phone, he seemed to be preoccupied.
"Hi, Erik," Angela began.  "That sure was some storm we had
last night, wasn't it!"

"I hardly noticed," Erik replied with a yawn.  

"It uprooted a large tree that was in my back yard," Angela said;
"and it's lying in my driveway, blocking the entrance to my
garage.  Would you help me get rid of it, Erik?"

"Look, baby, I'm sorry," Erik replied.  "Right now I'm watching a
good movie.  This afternoon the football game between the two
biggest rival universities is going to be on TV.  Tomorrow
morning is my only opportunity during the week to sleep late.
Tomorrow afternoon is when I watch professional wrestling.
So I won't have any time to help you with that tree."

"All right," Angela sighed, "I'll find someone else."

As soon as Angela hung up the phone, it rang again.  "Hello,"
she said; but she knew she sounded discouraged.

"Hi, Angela," came the reply, "what's wrong?"

The person on the phone was Angela's friend, Darryl.  She
hadn't dated him nearly as much as she had dated Erik,
and Angela and Darryl had never been intimate.  Darryl was
legally blind like Angela; and, therefore, he couldn't drive, and
take her places, and do things with her as easily as Erik could.
Angela explained to Darryl about the fallen tree, and told him
that Erik had declined to help her.

"I'm sorry, Angela," Darryl replied sympathetically, "and I'll
remove the tree for you, honey."

"How can you do that, Darryl?" Angela asked in disbelief.

"I have a hand saw and a wheelbarrow," Darryl told her, "and my
neighbor can burn the wood in his fireplace."

Darryl lived just three blocks from Angela; so ten minutes later,
he was in her driveway, laboriously sawing off a segment of the
uprooted tree.  He loaded the wheelbarrow, returned home,
and stacked the wood behind his neighbor's house.  That process was repeated several times that day.  Angela couldn't
help pondering over how much faster Erik could have performed
that same task with his chain saw and pickup!

Angela fed Darryl both lunch and dinner.  Then as he finished
loading the last of the tree onto the wheelbarrow late that night,
she walked up to him.  "I very much appreciate all you've done for me, Darryl," she said, as she put her arms around him.
"No one else would have gone to all that trouble.  Why don't you
stay here with me tonight, sweetie, then you can take away the
last load in the morning after breakfast."

Darryl was excited as he put his arms around Angela, and it
was going to be difficult for him to resist her offer.  "No thanks,
Angela, baby," he said.  "I don't want any payment for what I've
done for you.  I did it because, because I love you."

Angela agreed to date Darryl the following afternoon, and they
kissed good night.

Angela's phone rang early Monday evening.  When she
answered it, she learned that Erik was calling.  "Hi, baby," Erik
said.  "Where would you like to go tonight?"

"Nowhere, Erik," Angela replied, "I have a date tonight."

"Come on, baby, I want to see you tonight!" Erik begged.  "You
can break your date for me, can't you?"

"No, Erik, I will not break my date," Angela replied.  "I needed
your help during the weekend, but Darryl volunteered his
assistance instead; and with just a hand saw and a
wheelbarrow, he removed the fallen tree for me.  He didn't even
expect anything in return for his labor.  My date with Darryl is too
important to break for anyone, and especially for you!  Where
were you when I needed you?"

This little story is designed to illustrate a point, and to present a
question for the reader to ponder.  Is it better for someone to
have an abundance of ability and resources, but no desire to
help others, or for someone to be lacking in ability and
resources, but have a strong desire and willingness to help
others?  Obviously, a combination of the two would be the best;
but when it comes down to a choice, should people be more
like Erik, or more like Darryl?
David E. Stahl