Sunday, November 15, 2009

On the Road, Again!

(Hum Willie Nelson's song when you read my title:)



Last Friday morning, my youngest son hit a deer on his way to school. Really, I should say that the deer hit him. The impact literally sheared the grill, headlights, AND THEIR SOCKETS right off of the front of his '93 Ford Ranger. Ethan could not avoid the 10-point buck that was running across the highway.



Ethan leaves about 5 minutes ahead of me every morning. I knew when the phone rang that it was either him or his dad saying they had hit a deer. All three of us drive approx. 10 miles to Peebles on scenic Ohio Highway 41. It goes past Woodland Altars Camp which is basically a game preserve. So, we watch for them every day, all year. We see them alone and/or in herds but they are a constant danger. He said that he was fine but he had no grill and no headlights --it was still dark. I told him if his truck was still running to get off of the road, turn it off, and wait for me.

As I approached the scene of the accident, I saw in the field near the road a HUGE buck sitting there, breathing heavily. He was lying down, kind of sitting up like cows do when they are resting. I could see steam coming from his nostrils where he was breathing hard in the cold air.

I was so relieved and very grateful to see that Ethan was fine. He was in his truck waiting for me. It was a good thing that I told him to turn the truck off because there was big puddle of anti-freeze running from under it. He and I were probably there 15-20 minutes making phone calls and waiting for my husband to get there. It was amusing to watch how many guys, on their way to work, slowed down and/or stopped to look at the wounded buck just sitting in the field. You could not tell that he was hurt, so it looked like this big buck was just resting out in the open. When we were going home that afternoon, though, the deer had died and was laying back farther in the same field. I'm sorry that the poor thing suffered but so glad my son wasn't injured.

Anyway, to make this long story have a happy ending........the insurance company allowed a great price for Ethan's '93 Ranger. So much so, that Papaw found another Ranger to replace it. Ethan now has a '01 Ford Ranger that has a lot more options on it than his old truck. It has more miles on it but is quite an upgrade. Note to self: ALWAYS carry "comprehensive coverage" on every vehicle. It payed off for us in a big way in this situation.

Ethan has a newer truck and maybe he knows that when I say "Be careful and watch for deer" whenever he leaves the house, there are good reasons.

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