[399 words]
You may have never heard of the city of Can’t. It was founded by settlers who didn’t want to go any further, since it was too much work to keep going, so they sat down and said, “We Can’t!” Can’t became a place simply because folks had it in their heads that this was it, even though they knew better. Can’t just popped up and a bunch of folks just accepted that it was where they were.
It’s a quaint place since nothing ever changes in Can’t. There are no new buildings, no new work, no new much of anything. They tried to get something going there but it fizzled out because…well, that’s just the nature of Can’t.
Can’t is located just down from Won’t, so close that people think that Can’t and Won’t are the same. Now the folks of Can’t say no, they are different than those in Won’t, much more reasonable. But really, they end up being pretty much the same place.
Can’t isn’t the most productive place. Their chief export is excuses. There are a few folks that make good reasons in Can’t but to tell the truth a reason or excuse works the same so it’s easier to make excuses. And people in Can’t like things easy.
There are a lot of people that live in Can’t, even though Can’t is not where most folks want to live. Can’t is a place most people settle down in. Can’t has a way of keeping you from going anywhere. It’s like once you get a little Can’t in you, you just don’t go anywhere else. Can’t just becomes a way of life. I guess that is why so many people live here even though they never intended to.
Come to think of it, it is strange how people find this place. If you are going to Success or Accomplishment or A Better Place, you just don’t make it there if you go through Can’t. Can’t leads you to Despair and Misery but those aren’t popular destinations, even though a lot of folks from Can’t do end up there from time to time.
If I’m being totally honest, I hope you don’t ever go to Can’t. There isn’t much to do, isn’t much to learn or much to get from Can’t. But I guess if you are not careful you might just end up there anyway.
Barry Haynes
Hope church of Christ
Hope, AR