system
Context: I shall never forget the night, a few years ago, when Marion J. Douglas was a student in one of my calsses. (I have not used his real name for personal reasons. As he requested.) But here is his real story as he told it before one of our adult - education classes. He told us how tragedy had struck at his home, not once, but twice. The first time he had lost his five-old daughter, a child he adored. He and his wife thought they couldn't bear that first loss; but, as he said:"Ten months later, God gave us another little girl and she died in five days." 

This double 

was almost too much to bear. "I couldn't take it," this father told us. "I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat, I couldn't rest or relax. My nerves were entirely shaken and my confidence gone." At last he went to doctors; one recommended sleeping pills and another recommended a trip. He tried both, but neither helped. He said:"My body felt as if it was surrounded in a vice , and the jaws of the vice were being drawn tighter and tighter." The tension of grief ----if you have ever been paralyzed by sorrow, you know what he meant. 

But thank God, I had one child left ----a four --year-- old son. He gave me the solution to my problem. One afternoon as I sat around feeling sorry for myself, he asked; 'Daddy, will you build a boat for me?' I was in no mood to build a boat; in fact, I was in no mood to do anything. But my son is a persistent little fellow! I had to give in. 

Building that toy boat took me about three hours. By the time it was finished, I realized that those three hours spent building that boat were first hours of mental relaxation and peace that I had had in months! I realized that it is difficult to worry while you are busy doing something that requires planning and thinking. In my case, building the boat had knocked worry out of the ring. So I determined to keep busy. 

The following night, I went from room to room in the house, making a list of jobs that ought to be done. Scores of items needed to be repaired: bookcase, stair steps, storm windows, window-shades, locks, leaky taps. Amazing as it seems, in the course of two weeks I had made a list of 242 items that needed attention. 

"During the last two years I have completed most of them. I am busy now that I have no time for worry." 

No time for worry! That is exactly what Winston Churchill said when he was working eighteen hours a day at the height of the war. When he was asked if he worried about his huge responsibilities, he said :"I am too busy. I have no time for worry."
human
What was the father asked to build?
gpt
a boat
human
Who asked?
gpt
his son
human
Are there other children in the household?
gpt
no
human
What is his supposed name?
gpt
Marion J. Douglas
human
Did he loose a son?
gpt
no
human
A daughter?
gpt
yes
human
how many?
gpt
Two
human
The time frame of their departures?
gpt
Ten months apart
human
How old is the boy?
gpt
Four
human
Did he build a real boat?
gpt
no
human
what kind?
gpt
toy boat
human
What realization did he come to while building it?
gpt
it is difficult to worry while you are busy
human
Where did he go the next night?
gpt
from room to room in the house
human
Doing what?
gpt
making a list of jobs
human
How many were there in total?
gpt
242
human
an example?
gpt
storm windows
human
What quote by Churchill is included?
gpt
I am too busy. I have no time for worry.
human
Who was telling this story?
gpt
his teacher
human
Was he taking any medication?
gpt
yes
human
What kind?
gpt
sleeping pills