DR. WALLACE: Over the last several years I've had a deep-seated desire to do good things and be helpful to humanity, and I've done my best to try to recruit friends and relatives to join me to create some kind of program or movement that could help a wide swath of people.

Despite my best efforts, I've had only tepid and lukewarm interest from a few people. Many times, people have told me to contact them and would come out and help, but it's amazing the amount of excuses that crop up when you actually ask somebody to donate their time.

So I've kind of decided that this summer could be make or break for me in regard to these dreams. Do you think it's unrealistic for me to recruit a couple of dozen people over this summer and to create an organization from the ground up? I'm really interested in making a big difference in the world, but nobody seems to want to join me in my area. — My Big Dreams Are Fading, via email

MY BIG DREAMS ARE FADING: With all the excellent organizations already in place in our country and our communities, it may indeed be quite a lofty goal for you to start a brand-new organization from the ground up, especially without prior organizational experience.

It feels as though your enthusiasm is waning, and even though you haven't recruited many to join you in pursuing your dreams, you've done nothing wrong, as it sounds to me that you gave your idea a noble effort. My advice to you at this point is to consider doing volunteer work yourself with an organization and cause that you respect and are passionate about. Being on the inside will give you an up-close look at how such organizations are structured, how they function and how they make their inroads in the community.

Being a valuable contributor and actually helping others firsthand in your community will be great for your self-esteem and self-image. Down the road, you may find an opportunity to start a new cause when your personal stars and the circumstances around you may align. For now, I feel you'd be better off focusing on joining an existing organization to do volunteer work that will simultaneously help others and pay you emotional dividends in short order.

MY HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE IS IMPACTING MY GOOD FRIEND

DR. WALLACE: I just had a truly horrible and rotten experience. I borrowed a laptop from one of my good high school friends so I could work on a specific project that I've been evolved with for the past year.

I was at our local mall in a food court, alternately working on my project and taking bites of the sandwich I had ordered. At one point, I spilled some sauce and didn't have but one thin napkin, and I needed a few more to clean everything up. I simply walked 20 yards over to the food court establishment that I purchased the sandwich from, chatted briefly with an employee there, and received the extra napkins. When I turned and walked back to where I was sitting, I didn't notice it at first, but when I got about 10 feet away, I saw the laptop was gone! Needless to say, I was frantic and asked other people if they saw anything, but nobody seemed to have noticed anything.

My father and I went to the mall's security that afternoon and explained what happened, and they promised to study the videotape. Later, we heard that someone wearing a hoodie and dark sunglasses quickly walked up and took the laptop as I was halfway to the food establishment to get napkins. They were able to follow the person's movements out of the mall and into the parking lot, but then the trail went cold. There was no way to identify the thief.

My friend is crestfallen, as that was her prized possession in life. It was a newer Apple laptop, and she comes from a family with very few resources, so she won't be able to replace it. I also don't currently have much money. What can I possibly do to ever make this up to her? — I Feel So Horrible, via email

I FEEL SO HORRIBLE: This is a very tough lesson to learn, unfortunately for you. Anytime we find ourselves out in public with valuable assets, especially technology and electronics, it's really important to keep them within our sight and possession at all times.

At this point, my advice to you is to go on a recruiting effort. By that, I mean go to as many responsible adults as you possibly can and explain the situation in complete detail. See if one of them would be willing to purchase the exact model of laptop and allow you to make payments to reimburse them over a period of time. You can look into getting a part-time job or doing babysitting or other chores in your neighborhood or within your circle of friends and family. Once others know what happened and understand your desire to make things right for your friend, I trust people will step up to help you in many ways. Job offers are sure to roll in quickly for you.

Sometimes terrible things happen in life, but fortunately nobody was injured or hurt, save the emotional distress that both you and your friend endured. Learn this hard lesson, and do your utmost to make amends to your friend by finding a way to replace her laptop as quickly as possible.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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