the importance of excuses

See, without excuses in the world there would be no successes. There would be no winners and no losers. There would be no living and no dead. You my friend, you would be stuck at the bottom of a snake pit if you had enough excuses. Without an excuse there is no top nor bottom. We need one to get to the other. One needs not to compare, only to acknowledge the fact that those who make excuses make them fairly well, easily. Each excuse uttered is a chance to become more honed in that ability. They are practiced, every one told makes them one better. They could be stuck for years in a situation they dislike — or mere moments depending on the immediacy, because their excuse making tack is far beyond average, yet still dangerous to the teller. They are the masters of excuses, and they would rather sleep with snakes than see success.

Take for instance a situation where no one would make an excuse, Tod would find a way to make one. Tod was out hiking in the desert and he fell into a great hole full of rattlesnakes. He waits for some time. His phone has no service, he lacks water, and the sun is going down. He told no one where he was going, and the snakes are coming ever closer, and closer.

For a moment he hears something, then moments later he hears more. He grabs the sand, it is real, no dream. The commotion above sounds like a group of people. The voices get louder and louder, and finally they are over the hole, shadows stream the walls. They call down, “Hey, anyone down there!?” Tod hesitates, he can’t believe these random strangers have come to his rescue. He is speechless, he cannot find the words. They yell again, “Is there anyone down there?” Tod thinks surely these people have seen his footsteps, followed his trail, they know someone or something is there. He doesn’t know if he can do it, he waits without a sound.

Minutes what seem like hours go by and in a panic Tod calls up, “Yeah! I am down here. I think I need help. My ankle is twisted and my hand is bleeding.” The group then shuffles about, mumbling, dust falls into the opening. They call down again, “We can lower a rope and pull you up, does sound good?” Tod can hear unzipping and items and fabric being pulled from bags. He mills again, looks at the snakes, his empty water bottle — a drop or two. He looks up and then down, what if he falls from the rope, what if he never makes it to the top. “I don’t know… I just don’t know… I CAN’T DO IT! I JUST CAN’T! LEAVE ME ALONE!” Tod screams up at the group.

There is a moment of pause, the group seems to stand above the hole. Tod can hear a terse and somewhat tacit light whispering. “What don’t you know? We’ll send down a rope, and then we can pull you out. Is that okay, are you okay? Let’s talk about it up here. We’ll pull you out.” Tod waits and thinks some more. He does not answer. The snakes move closer, he chucks his now empty water bottle at them. Hisses fill the tight space. Tod goes over it in his head, he is content to be alive, he is here, but he fears falling just near the top — “Ahhhh, I can’t do it...” Long shadows pass over the threshold of the hole, and the ceiling darkens in a fine iron red, turning deep crimson.

“No, just go!” Tod answers, he is final. “I am fine here, I just want to stay here! This was my plan all along, I am fine. Let me be.” he puts his cupped hands down and waits the sound of their departure. “ — But we have rope, we can help you out. We’ll lower it down. You will make it out just fine, just let us try and help you.” Just then a rope falls at Tod’s feet from the grey opening above. His ankle has turned purple and is badly bruised, his hands feel worse having broken his fall, maybe 20 feet on jutting rocks. “No! Just leave me, I am fine. I was thinking about spending the night down here. Don’t waste your time with me.” The rope wiggled at Tod, it sway back and forth, hitting him for some time. Then the darkness came.

The group up top pleaded and begged for Tod to grab the rope. After the last “go away” there was not a sound made. From inside the hole the rope ascended and vanished into the halo roof. A last glint of light died on the desert horizon for those above ground who saw it. The group at the edge of the hole, stood confused, baffled. They shook their heads and thought about the miles of walking ahead of them back into civilization. They thought of the man in the hole, wanting to stay there, having every means, but also having a great excuse. They could for some reason not understand why a man would want to camp out in a well mark snake den. One of the men in the group padded the sign that said “Danger Snakes”, a serpent in black paint on the yellow reflective backing. And they walked away in the vast coming twilight, under endless stars, as a broken soul wait breathing, shuddering, cold and quiet below.