The Mysterious Tail of Bob: A Legacy of Perseverance and Ingenuity
Bob spent his days gnawing at his cage, and his nights spinning on his wheel. It was clear he was planning his escape.
We did everything to delay the inevitable. We weighted the door of the cage down with a wooden coaster. He knocked it off with sheer force.
We tied the door down with an old t-shirt. He ravished it to shreds. We inserted wooden kebab skewers through intermittent slats. He scratched them loose.
He broke out twice before.
The first time he sprang from our arms as we were lovingly cleaning his cage. He ran behind the fridge, but soon we had him cornered.
The second time his plan was no less than ingenious. He drank all his water from the dispenser that was blocking the cage lid. Once the water was depleted, he was able to loosen the lid and break free. He stayed out all night. Heaven knows doing what. But, in an unfortunate error of judgement, he decided to stay in the vicinity, choosing very unwisely to take refuge in the laundry basket. I almost died of fright when, as I was sorting the colors from the whites, Bob rushed at me from beneath a grey-colored Metallica t-shirt. Once my heart rate settled, I regrouped, separated the fur from the heavy metal, and restored him to his refuge. That was when we inserted the kebab skewers to reinforce his hamster lock down.
But now he is gone. There is no sign of him. Three days have past. Not a noise. Not a scratch. Not a smell or a dropping. The only thing that remains is what seems to be the tiniest tip of his tail. Mysterious isn't it? Then again, maybe it isn't his tail. Maybe it is a slither of kebab skewer fashioned to confuse and confound us. That Bob, he sure is smart.
Bob and his mysterious tail have made me realize something. Whether our limitations are physical or psychological, the way out of them is blind perseverance, ingenuity, and honestly, a bit of dumb luck.
No matter what serves you better to get out of your rut: gnawing, scratching, the laws of physics, great timing or fate: your actions will not go unnoticed. So, whatever you do, leave a legacy behind: a small but significant one that will create a narrative around who you are, and will shroud your name with legend. It can be a splinter of a story, or a slither of a tail. Either way, it will keep us all guessing about the great things you will get up to next.
Where are you Bob? We miss you. Next time I will use duct tape.