Deer and SAU

Imported Livejournal entry 02.11.08
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What a weekend I've had.


Friday Night
I got off of work at about 6:30. I decided to explore and find a different way home. The roads were decent that night, and I took a good look at Google Maps before I left. I was driving along, having a good ole time listening to the Father Gilbert Mysteries (which are amazing, Focus on the Family Radio Theatre dramatizations, btw) when I found my way into Hanover. I wasn't lost as I had known that much. I kept driving on what I thought would take me back to Moscow, the road I always take home. Well, this road became that road, which in turn became something else. I didn't want to get totally lost and waste a bunch of gas in the process, so I turned around. I wasn't entirely sure where I was, so I wasn't driving very fast, about 25 to 30 mph. All of the sudden, out of completely nowhere, a doe walks out in front of my car. NOTE: I said the deer walked, and she definitely did just that. She wasn't in any hurry, as far as I could tell. Anyway, she came out of a wooded area, and as there was no shoulder, I had no warning until she was on the road in front of my car.

Naturally, I slammed on my brakes, and thankfully, I didn't swerve. If I would have thought of it, I would have honked as I was breaking, but one doesn't think of EVERYTHING in situations like these. I don't think it would have helped much anyway. I screamed bloody murder as I nailed the doe in the center of her body with the center of the front of my car. I watched the deer from impact to landing, and I still can't believe it happened the way it did.  Well, after I hit her, she slid up on my car but just a little bit, and then it threw her to the left. Have you ever seen Twister, when the cow is spinning around in the tornado? This doe did at least 2 somersaults in the air, head over heels, before landing in the snowy ditch, hitting butt/back side down. That part of it is a bit humorous, looking back, but at the time, I couldn't believe it happened.

I stopped on the road, trying to catch my breath, hoping my car was okay, and glad no one was around to see it happen. All I could think of was 1) Calling Nate, and 2) Was the deer okay?


I drove forward, glad to see my car was still functioning normally. I got a hold of Nate and decided to turn my car around to find the deer and to figure out what to do next. I knew I wouldn't be able to rest until I knew that poor doe was okay. Well, she didn't exactly scamper off as though nothing had happened, but she didn't die on impact either. I pulled over as much as I could, as there was no shoulder, and when I saw her there, I started balling. I watched as she tried to get up once, then twice, but couldn't stand on her back two legs. Her front half was fine, but she couldn't walk! I couldn't handle that! I'm such a softy. Nate calmed me down over the phone, though I'm not sure how as by now I was sobbing uncontrollably. I finally left because we decided that since my car was the only vehicle involved, and I only have very basic car insurance, that it was unnecessary to call the police. I kind of wanted someone to come put her out of her misery...I hated to see her suffer! Nate found where I was on a map and gave me directions to get back to Moscow. It turned out I had been going the right way. I had to drive by the "scene of the crime" again, and the deer was gone. I couldn't see her anywhere. I have to say, I was relieved. Hopefully she was just stunned and was able to get up and go on with her life. Unfortunately, she probably was so frightened, she got up enough to make it to the woods, and died there. I try not to think about that.
I'm not a person who loves animals so much that I can't stand to see them hunted. On the contrary, I know there are far too many deer, especially in Michigan. But for her to die because of an accident, as a waste. Ugh, I was sickened at that thought. Oh well, such is life. I will never know what happened to her, and I will have to be okay with that.


Moving on.
Saturday was a fabulous day of shopping in Lansing with Becca. We had such a great day. Either we have the same taste in clothes or I am just a copycat, but I ended up buying the same lounge pants and shoes as she did. That night, the weather started to get really crappy, and when I drove her to Spring Arbor, it was to the point of dangerous. The snow was drifting really badly, and there were whiteout conditions. She invited me to spend the night, and I decided I didn't want to have another accident (after my literal run-in with the deer). 
I stayed. It was fun, too. We went to Ormston to visit my brother. That was hilarious. I remember 4 or 5 years ago, walking onto O3 on our way to O4 with some of my female friends and having ZERO guys talk to us. I was probably a freshman or sophomore at the time, and I knew a few of the guys that lived there from camp and/or classes. It was so ironic because this time, I'm at least two years older than all of the guys there, and more guys talked to me than I can even remember. I don't even remember any of their names! Maybe it was because I was "Jonathan's sister" and I was with Becca, but it was just really humorous. I had a great time looking at the Ormston pictures hanging on the walls. What a great tradition someone started. I knew so many of those names and faces. I didn't feel as much like a stranger when I was standing in Ormston, seeing and remembering those faces; guys like Peter Blair, Ryan Jones, Corwin Koppelman, Brian McKinley, MY FIANCE Nate Piatt, Kevin Eccles, Ron Holsworth, Tom Maynard, etc. Suddenly I didn't feel so awkward being there.  
College hasn't really changed since I went there. The faces are different, but the people and atmosphere are the same. Even M1 seemed to be decorated the same as it had been before. We watched High School Musical (which is actually really cute, kind of like the Lizzie McGuire movie), and then I crashed on Becca and her roommate, the RA's couch. I think I wouldn't mind spending the night there again, on weekends when my parents are up north. It wasn't awkward, but I think it would have been better had I been more prepared. There were a few things I would have liked to do, but I didn't have time, like:
1. Visit Nate Woods
2. Go to the library and see if they have any good audiobooks I could listen to on my commute
3. Hang out at the Cougar Den
4. Go to Chapel with them (on a Monday, of course)
5. Visit the Art Center
I did think that if I did visit them on a weekday, that it would be fun to go with them to class, with a teacher that I used to have, just for fun. I would also enjoy sitting in on an art class, though if it were drawing, I just know Mr. Bippes would do something crazy like call on me for a critique, and that would just be so awkward! I can still critique art, but I'm so out of practice at doing it in front of people who actually know what I'm talking about that I would just hate it. I basically would just like going to a class and not having homework. Even two years after graduating, that's still probably one of my favorite things...no more homework. Ever.
Oh, I forgot to mentioned that I bumped into the lovely Melanie Baldwin when I was picking Becca up that morning! How fabulous to see someone I live so close to but hang out with so rarely! We have decided that we need to get together, and soon!


Needless to say, the deer and the weather didn't ruin my weekend, but it sure was not a normal weekend by any stretch of the imagination. I will enjoy getting back to my normal life this week. Work, dog lessons, wedding planning, Valentine's Day, etc.


To my local friends: Drive safely on those crazy Michigan roads! And watch for deer!
Cheers.