If you know anything at all about Ol’ Dutch, it is that he has always been a can-do type of person. I don’t know if there is anything I haven’t done or am not willing to try to do myself. And if you also know that I have Scottish blood flowing through these old veins, you will know the reason for doing so. Yes, true to that heritage I am tight as bark on a tree when it comes to money.
That also came fairly honestly to me as my family have all been frugal. Mostly out of a need due to lack of mammon but also, we just like to do our own projects and count Home Depot and Lowes as a pilgrimage. And generally, I do not mind a bit as I know I will get a better-quality product in the end if I do it myself even though it may take me longer to get it done.
Having grown up in a church family I had ample opportunity to help build, clean, mow, set up chairs, bring food and other things as those needs became available. But the one thing that drives me to distraction about that process is all the people who are always so gung-ho when some project or need is announced and say, “We can do that.”
Almost every time I have heard “we can do that,” it means, “Dutch, get ready to work.” When it comes time for the deed, I always seem to find myself working while the well-meaning become weary in well-doing, which is in the Bible actually.
In Galatians, you’ll find the advice that people need to be careful not to get worn out doing good works but if they persevere, they will reap a reward in due time. I don’t know about you, but “due time” seems to be a “long time” when it comes to reaping back. But it does pay eventually.
As you all know Miss Trixie and I have been in the middle of building a house and most of the work has fallen on yours truly, Ol’ Dutch. And I would not have it any other way I guess but I can tell you this. I have heard “we can do it” from more than one person and for some reason they were all no shows when it came time for actual work.
And yes, I do understand that people are busy, but those alligator mouths need to learn to stay shut when the subject of work for others comes up.
In writing this column, Miss Trixie has informed me that when she says, “we can do that,” it is supposed to be words of encouragement because apparently, she thinks that will help me. It doesn’t.
For other folks, saying “we can do that” makes them feel good at the moment they say it and their intentions were good, too, at that time. But we all know what the road to Hell is paved with and I can see why Abbot Bernard of Clairvaux coined the phrase way back in the mid 1100’s.
He probably had a church to build, a rectory to add on to or some such thing and everyone around probably said they would help only to never show up for the actual project. I think the funniest part of those encounters with people is that after the work is all done and the paperwork filed, they still take credit for what “we” built.
So, if you have a project, be it church related or personal in nature, you can expect a chorus of voices encouraging you to go right ahead with said venture. And as long as you know that “We” means “Me”, as in you alone, you will be good for the journey.
Kevin Kirkpatrick and his Yorkie, Cooper, fish, hunt, ATV or hike daily. His email is Kevin@TroutRepublic.com. Additional news can be found at www.troutrepublic.com or on Twitter at TroutRepublic.
