Published: August 15, 2008 10:34 am            

Mike Scarlett: I owe my life to bat guano

Recently I needed a break from counseling, so my wife and I took our family on a short excursion to New Mexico.

While on the trip we visited Carlsbad Caverns. The 51-degree caverns were spectacular and a cool reprieve from the 105-degree New Mexico desert heat.

The night we arrived we were able to witness hundreds of thousands of bats exiting the cave at sunset. The bats are Mexican Freetail bats and are very tiny. They winter in Mexico and spend spring and summer at the caverns. Every evening they leave the cave to go on an all night feed.

As they came out of the cave, each bat seemed to circle the entrance of the cave several times before disappearing into the desert night. The circling motion reminded me of a tornado. This tornado of bats was quite a sight to see.

As the bats swirled around in a circle, some of the bats flew through the crowd of people who were watching, barely missing many of the spectators. My son had one barely miss his ear, and my daughter had one buzz the top of her head.

A high pitched whisper of a sound was created as the bats swirled around and around before their departure. The bats also brought with them a sweet smell that reminded me of the smell of a flower. My daughter described it as a musty honeysuckle smell.

The bats entertained us for at least 20 minutes until the flock of bats gradually dwindled to a few. It was truly an extraordinary experience.

This experience reminded me of another experience I had in which some bats saved my life. It happened at Boy Scout camp in Northern Colorado when I was 14 years old.

Camp was all about learning things such as woodcarving, canoeing, survival skills, knot tying, etc. All the scouts were required to take different classes in the morning. In the afternoon we had free time to explore the surrounding mountains.

On one particular afternoon my friend, Mike LaGree, and I decided to climb a canyon wall. The canyon wall had narrow ledges that we carefully inched along. While traversing one ledge I noticed a black tar-like substance in the crevices of the canyon wall. My friend informed me it was bat guano (poo).

I remember thinking, “How gross!” I made a mental note to be sure not to touch it as I continued climbing.

I was a pretty good climber and liked to push my limits. The only time I experienced fear while climbing was when I looked down. So when I climb I make a point to avoid looking down!

Mike and I were making very good progress scaling the 150-foot canyon wall, and had almost made it to the top when the unthinkable happened. I lost my footing, and I began to fall. I had stepped onto some loose gravel, and my feet slid out from under me. I was at least a 100 feet above the canyon floor when I began my fall.

I frantically grabbed for anything that could stop my descent. My hands kept coming up empty, and then suddenly my right hand latched on to something solid. Dangling by one hand, with my body swaying back and forth over the hundred-foot precipice, I looked down. With my other hand I took the time to stuff my heart back down my throat and then pulled myself to safety.

As I was hanging there, literally clinging to dear life, I realized that what I was holding on to was bat guano.

The black tar like excrement had solidified and was stuck to the rock like concrete. If it hadn’t been for the droppings of some friendly neighborhood bats, I would not be alive to tell you my tale. After that experience I never looked at bat guano the same.

You may wonder what this story has to do with counseling. The truth is nothing, except that not all guano that comes into our lives is necessarily bad. The Scripture states that, “All things work together for the good of those that love the Lord.” and thus a little guano could possibly be a blessing in disguise.



Mike Scarlett is a marriage and family counselor. He can be reached at mikescarlett.com or by calling 817-933-5041.

        

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