#AtoZChallenge: Generous Gallah

George didn’t earn much as a pastor at a small town church. He lived well within his means, saving enough money every year to visit his brother in the big city. So when he and his brother, Greg, inherited a small fortune from their father, George didn’t quite know what to do with it. Greg, a high-flying financier, had his portion in investments and stocks immediately, earning interest within days.

Since George knew that many of his parishioners were facing financial difficulties in the poor economic climate, he decided that he would help them out. After church the next Sunday, he casually mentioned it to a few friends he knew were facing especially tough times. Within days, he was swamped with a long list of families requesting assistance, even from people who had never stepped foot in his church before.

“What do I do, Greg?” George phoned his brother, overwhelmed by the response.

“You great gallah,” Greg scolded. “If you tell people you have money, of course everyone and their pet monkey is going to come asking you for it. They’ll create all sorts of sob stories to gain a little of your sympathy and a lot of your money. Don’t you have any brains?”

“Don’t be mean. Of course I do. But I just wanted to be kind to people, not selfish like you.”

“Your generosity is going to be the death of you,” Greg muttered.

George glared at his phone, wishing he was near enough to throttle his brother. “It’s my money to do with as I wish.”

“You did ask for my advice.”

“Fine, fine, whatever. You grouch.”

“Whatever you decide, you’re still accountable for it.”

“I don’t see why you have make such a fuss, though.”

Greg grimaced. “Because when you run out of money, who’s going to have to bail you out? Me!”

Despite his grumbling, Greg was right—George knew that if he didn’t work this out properly, being overly generous might just land him in a spot of trouble.

“Tell me what to do, Greg,” George finally swallowed his pride and asked.

“Only touch your interest,” Greg replied like it was the simplest thing in the world.

“So I only give out a little every year?”

“Yes. And start a proper application process, if you can. You’ll need to review all their claims to make sure they really do need the money.”

George groaned.

“You did ask for advice,” Greg repeated. 

“I know. Thank you. I’ll have to think about this again. Being generous is really hard sometimes.”

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Today's suggestions were:

• Golliwog, from Barbara Harrison
• Grace/giving/generosity, from Cherie Osier
• Gallah, from Sharna Steinert

I went with Generosity (well, generous) and Gallah. Struggled a little with Gallah because OED doesn't recognise it as a word, Merriam Webster says it's some form of Christian cleric, and Urban Dictionary says it's slang for idiot. Aren't words fun!