Volunteering is good for all of us and usually is of help to the persons or to the place for whom or which we volunteer to do something. I have great respect for folks that go far away from their homes to help when disasters strike and spend countless weeks cleaning up the wreckage of storms and other natural ruins. You know, they enabled those in need to have hope and confidence in the human race.

Now I must say, volunteers that are volunteered by their close relatives are an animal of another color. That person who is volunteered has a couple of quick decisions to make and they are both sorta foul tasting, usually. You, if you are volunteered, have to decide to go forward and do whatever she, your close relative, said you would do and leave your own work lacking, or you must decide to stay hooked up and mind your own Ps and Qs and make your close relative look real bad. Thatlast choice could produce some long-lasting sour effects; bet on it!

I have been told that tomorrow morning I need to be ready to leave here at a certain time in order to meet up with another feller and go cut some wood for a widow woman that lives about eight miles from us. She, my close relative, has already said I would be ready and take my chain saw with me to the task. She didn’t inquire about my schedule, the condition of the saw, the likelihood that the widow’s grandsons could do the job for her or anything else. She just said, “Sure, he can go help!”

That widow woman is the mother of a feller we went to church with for years and cancer took him as a young man, about 40. I think a lot of his mother and will help her in any way I am able, but tomorrow is sure as heck not handy.

“The need for wood is several weeks away,” I say as I wipe my brow, “and Ihave to get some fertilizer on the pastures or lose lots more grass, which I cannot afford to do!”

I have assigned the offspring their week’s work, and there is more than enough to go around to the three of us. Actually, I don’t assign, we talk about it and they just know and do. But if I leave for a day, there’s no one to catch up but me and double-time is hard to handle at this point of my life. Sure, I am still a caution and tough as nails, but the pie I have consumed has made me a little soft!

I have just finished oiling and fueling the saw, sharpening the blade and wishing it would all go away. I guess that is hateful of me and I ask forgiveness but I sure need to be doing the stuff I had planned on.

It is my opinion, and everyone has one, speak for yourself and yourself alone when volunteering. Don’t give someone away to a chore when you might be interfering with making a living for yourself, the close relative and them as well! Most of us talk all the time - hint, hint - looks like we could ask before nailing down the lid!

Bill is a pen name used by the Gravette author of this weekly column.

Opinion, Pages 6 on 08/31/2011