Most Unbelievable Excuse Ever

I am early to everything. It is genetically impossible for me to be late to anything, so when I was tardy for the

Snake in a bucket.

alumni softball game Thursday afternoon, everyone knew I was going to have a good excuse, but no one believed me when I blurted, “There is this 20-foot snake blocking the driveway!” in an even more-hyper than usual voice. As I drove down to the softball field, there was an unusual amount of traffic stopped at the top of Boones Ferry Road. Once I got to the entrance of the Huston Sports Complex, I couldn’t turn in. The driveway was blocked by a mini-van and a man was directing traffic on by. I figured there was some sort of accident. No, there was a HUGE snake in the driveway, and he was trying to catch it. My first estimates were 20 feet, but he was probably closer to 12. A boa, by my guess, or maybe a python. Whatever he was, it was HUGE! So I had to drive back to campus, park, and then hustle back down the hill to softball.

The game had just started by the time I arrived, but more importantly, the attempted snake capture was still going on. Someone had put a paint bucket over part of the snake, but you could still see his tail and part of his body, including some lumps that looked a lot like yesterday’s dinner. L&C Campus Security and maintanance people eventually joined the capture party. I found a big trash can with a lid for them to put the snake into (if they ever got him out of the bucket). BTW: we need to order a new trashcan for Huston. A snake is now living in the old one.

The snake wasn’t anywhere near our players (even when they all climbed the bleachers to see what I was babbling about) and it wasn’t a biting snake, so no one was in danger. Eventually they did get the snake (using a big shovel and some good timing) into the trashcan. A completely unbelievable excuse for being late. Luckily, I took pictures!