Oh Deer

On the way home from an evening at a community theater with friends, I hit a deer. My car is undamaged and the deer ran off into the woods, so I don't know how it is.

My husband is constantly warning me to look out for deer on the very road we were on when this happens. I normally take it at 45-50 miles per hour. This particular night, I was battling a headache and only driving 35.

The deer was small, barely taller than my bumper, so I think it was quite young. It darted out across the road and I had no time to react. I slammed on my brakes and, for some reason that I still can't explain, leaned on the horn (I apologize to the neighborhood for that).

The animal fell for a moment and then took off running. I stayed in my car shaking from the mere thought. While my husband was going on about how he told me to be more careful and he had once totaled a car that way, I was concerned for the well being of the now gone animal.

Several years ago, towards the end of my graduate school, i was forced to do some animal work. I had to learn to harvest the lungs of mice and rats. Eventually, I had to do this two about 10 rats. I hated every second of it. I gave up meat for over a year as a sort of karmic penance for the work I was required to do.

I hated having to kill those animals, even in the name of understanding a terrible infectious disease. The thought that I might have harmed a young deer has me a bit freaked out.