It had been a long hard winter in the Rockies. The snow piled deeper and deeper. The temperature dropped below zero and stayed there. The rivers froze over. People were suffering. The Red Cross used helicopters to fly in supplies.
After a long hard day, as they were returning to their base, the rescue team in a helicopter saw a cabin nearly submerged in the snow. A thin wisp of smoke came from the chimney. The men figured those people in that cabin were probably critically short of food, fuel, and medicine. Because of the trees they had to set down about a mile from the cabin. They put their heavy equipment on their backs, trudged through waist deep snow, and reached the cabin exhausted, panting, and perspiring. They pounded on the door and a thin, gaunt mountain woman finally answered the door.
The lead man panted, “Ma’am, we’re from the Red Cross.” She was silent for a moment, and then she said, “It’s been a hard long winter, sonny. I just don’t think we can give anything this year!”