Deer....
hmm... So Ruth posted "We hit a deer..." then people respond "keeping the car on the road would help" ?!? haha... I'm so confused. how does "we hit a deer" imply that the car went off road? Do y'all really doubt Ruth's driving abilities that much? ;-)
Ok, so I was the one driving, and its my car that will be out of commission for a while. This is what happened (notice there's not much of this going off the road stuff.)
We were traveling from south Alabama to Starkville...after 4 hours on the road, we were about 3 MILES from my house. On a two lane road, it was dark, it was late, we were tired and hungry, and only my low beams were on. Ruth, spotting a silhouette, just started going "Deer. Deer! Deeeer!" And there it was, not on the side of the road about to cross, but just standing in the middle, right over the double line. I brake, hard. Swerve a little to the right--just thinking "Miss the deer, don't go off the road. Don't swerve, don't swerve!!" Luckily, I wasn't speeding, but the tires still squeal. For a split second, I hold my breath...we're going to miss it...yesss, we're going to miss it. Then, in a moment of sheer panic I'm sure, the deer snapped out of its 'frozen in headlights trance,' turns around, and, at the last possible second, runs in front of my car--where it promptly came into contact with my car at about 40 mph. Crash, crunch. With tires still squealing, the deer is then catapulted about 8 feet into the air! (I'm not exaggerating, it was at least higher than my car.) Gravity doing its thing, then places the now very dead deer on the hood with a thud. "Keep the car on the road! Damn, we're going off it now!" Two wheels go into the grass, and the deer slides off. Car is still running...then running and making a terrible noise. Turn off the car. silence, deep breaths...
Ruth "You ok?"
"Yeah, you?"
"Yeah."
Then Laughter.
"Holy crap we just hit a deer!!!"
Ruth, daring to look around asks "Where's the deer?"
"I think its under the car. I need to call my dad."
"Are you sure?" as Ruth gets even braver. Looking out the windshield, then the passenger window " Oh! THERE IT IS! I found it! Right outside my door. When we get out, I'm getting out on your side. Ooo...you think I should take a picture of it? Yeah, I'll take a picture."
An hour later, after my dad did some rigging work on my car, we were at the house-- safe, ready for some food, sleep, and then Christmas. Unfortunately, the deer never made it past Christmas eve. No, it didn't have a red nose. However, one may hypothesize that,like Rudolph, the other deer wouldn't play with this one either. And under too much holiday stress, it must have felt that its only option was to stand in the road-- waiting for a big rig. However, a little Nissan Sentra, small enough to miss it, forced the deer to change its passive methods and hurl itself in front of the car-- proving that on Christmas Eve, there was at least one deer that was actually flying.
I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas, will have a Happy New Year!
Ok, so I was the one driving, and its my car that will be out of commission for a while. This is what happened (notice there's not much of this going off the road stuff.)
We were traveling from south Alabama to Starkville...after 4 hours on the road, we were about 3 MILES from my house. On a two lane road, it was dark, it was late, we were tired and hungry, and only my low beams were on. Ruth, spotting a silhouette, just started going "Deer. Deer! Deeeer!" And there it was, not on the side of the road about to cross, but just standing in the middle, right over the double line. I brake, hard. Swerve a little to the right--just thinking "Miss the deer, don't go off the road. Don't swerve, don't swerve!!" Luckily, I wasn't speeding, but the tires still squeal. For a split second, I hold my breath...we're going to miss it...yesss, we're going to miss it. Then, in a moment of sheer panic I'm sure, the deer snapped out of its 'frozen in headlights trance,' turns around, and, at the last possible second, runs in front of my car--where it promptly came into contact with my car at about 40 mph. Crash, crunch. With tires still squealing, the deer is then catapulted about 8 feet into the air! (I'm not exaggerating, it was at least higher than my car.) Gravity doing its thing, then places the now very dead deer on the hood with a thud. "Keep the car on the road! Damn, we're going off it now!" Two wheels go into the grass, and the deer slides off. Car is still running...then running and making a terrible noise. Turn off the car. silence, deep breaths...
Ruth "You ok?"
"Yeah, you?"
"Yeah."
Then Laughter.
"Holy crap we just hit a deer!!!"
Ruth, daring to look around asks "Where's the deer?"
"I think its under the car. I need to call my dad."
"Are you sure?" as Ruth gets even braver. Looking out the windshield, then the passenger window " Oh! THERE IT IS! I found it! Right outside my door. When we get out, I'm getting out on your side. Ooo...you think I should take a picture of it? Yeah, I'll take a picture."
An hour later, after my dad did some rigging work on my car, we were at the house-- safe, ready for some food, sleep, and then Christmas. Unfortunately, the deer never made it past Christmas eve. No, it didn't have a red nose. However, one may hypothesize that,like Rudolph, the other deer wouldn't play with this one either. And under too much holiday stress, it must have felt that its only option was to stand in the road-- waiting for a big rig. However, a little Nissan Sentra, small enough to miss it, forced the deer to change its passive methods and hurl itself in front of the car-- proving that on Christmas Eve, there was at least one deer that was actually flying.
I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas, will have a Happy New Year!