Oh deer

Is there something strange going on tonight?

I just drove back from some friends' house, and came across many wandering creatures in the night on my way. (This does not include undergraduates.) There was a bunny who nearly hopped his way right under my tire. As I wound my way from one side of Ithaca to the other, I passed several little troupes of deer loitering in people's front lawns. And as I a last pulled into my apartment complex, a short line of deer found it's intended path interrupted by the sudden appearance of my trusty car. The first and last incidents were both far closer than I would have liked, although I can now say with absolute certainty that my breaks work.

I can't recall ever seeing quite so many animals hopping about at night, at least not recently, so I ask again, is there something strange going on tonight?

The moon doesn't seem to be full, and there's no eclipse. I find no reports of natural disasters, either recent or impending. The weather did seem to turn cold this weekend, for the first time this season, I think. I also noticed that the air outside seemed quite fragrant and gently sweet, maybe a last burst of olfactory pleasantness before everything tucks itself away, or simply gives up the ghost, for winter. I don't know.

The deer reminded me of the one time that I hit a deer. I think it was in the late summer or early fall of 2003. This was while I was taking a year off from Cornell and living in Saugerties. I was across the Hudson River, just leaving Red Hook on my way to visit my girlfriend at the time. She wasn't actually home, but I was going to leave a little surprise for her outside her door. She had a fondness for the combination of Dr. Pepper and Butterfingers, and I had put together a little arrangement of these.

I wasn't going very fast, but the deer seemed to come out of nowhere. I think it had galloped out from between some houses. It was a large beast, and in addition to setting off the airbag and stopping the car flat, it had pushed in the entire front of the car and cracked the windshield. The side doors were even dented.

I was fine, and the deer ran right off, so I like to think he was fine too, and as surprised by the whole thing as I was. The inhabitant of one of the houses came out, and told me how car after car had met deer after deer in that exact spot. (I was proud to be a part of such a consistent tradition.) Some other folks stopped by and helped push the car out of the road. A state trooper eventually stopped by, and then a tow truck. Each person had some sort of hunting weapon with him, (and they were most assuredly all "him"s), ranging from knives to bows and arrows to rifles, and all were eager to go check on the other, four-legged victim of the accident. Fortunately, no one found him.

I got to ride in the trooper's car and see some of his barracks, which was cool. On the way back home with my mom, I even dropped off the gift for my girlfriend. Unfortunately, the car was totaled. Fortunately, it wasn't my beloved car, but instead my parent's one-year-old automobile. This last fact would have been an "unfortunately", except that the insurance covered a brand new version of the car, although it wasn't quite as cool. (The first one was red, and had a sunroof and a six-CD changer/player. Its replacement was a sober dark blue, had only the traditional openings (four doors), and had a CD player that played only one meager CD at a time.)

Both were excellent cars. My brother made fun of the model, saying that it had been so easily rendered non-functional, but I continue to point out that its last function was to save my life, in which it was most successful.

I was thinking about this event as I walked from my car to my apartment this evening, and also about that particular ex-girlfriend, and I noticed that I've picked up an interesting new habit. It seems that when I feel a quick, sharp stab of emotional pain I emit a short laugh or chuckle. Something in the way of a "heh-heh-heh".

Of course, this isn't the only time I laugh or chuckle, so it's just a necessary condition, not sufficient.

Tim out.