The Rat

I walked out to my pool early one fine morning several years ago to conduct my daily cleaning, chlorinating, filling, etc. I stood by the pool and began to scan the depths for any litter such as leaves, twigs or other debris.

Into my focus emerged a dark blob at the deep end. Peering into the depths in the early dawn, I could barely make out the identity of the submerged object resting on the bottom---a rat.

As I stared at the deceased creature, I began to wonder how it had happened to end up resting at the bottom of a swimming pool in Plano, Texas. I pictured the poor rodent scurrying through the night, moving swiftly over dark ground at midnight and all of a sudden being shocked to find himself awash in a large body of unexpected water from which there was no escape.

In my mind's eye I saw the panicked rat struggling to stay afloat, searching for hours for an escape, until finally exhaustion and death claimed a tortured soul.

And, I got to thinkin' that there are a lot of people like that poor rat---in over their heads. It could be drugs or debt or alcohol or marriage problems or job woes or just plain depression, or just about any other circumstance you could name. In over their heads, until they finally drown from their ordeal.

I took a picture of the rodent---it was pretty large and quite hairy (14" from tip of nose to end of tail). Cindy took the photo to work with her to show her co-workers the interesting things we have swimming in our pool. One woman said in all sincereity and with great authority that it looked like a "Norwegian" rat, "which come into the United States from Port Houston, and travel north from Richardson". We haven't stopped laughing.