Turkey Day Blues

The past week was disrupted by a holiday Americans call Thanksgiving. Since this holiday always falls on a Thursday, it's hard to visit relatives when you have to work the next day. Not that I had to work, but my girlfriend did. Anyway, we would have had to drive across Wisconsin at night to get to the closest relative. With gas prices hovering around $3.20 per gallon, the 440 mile round trip would cost about $88 bucks in my truck. We would get better gas mileage with our car, but a deer jumped out in front of us a few weeks back and put an end to that ride for a while. In Wisconsin if you hit a deer, the first thing they ask you after they find out you are all right, is if you want to keep the deer. Screw the deer! Look at the damage to my car.

This year everyone around here has noticed more dead deer on the side of the road than in past years. I suppose it has been a good if you are in the auto body business. My repair bill was well over three thousand dollars, just shy of the resale value of the car. Now I'm going to be even more careful when I drive on the highway at night. A lower night speed limit, or a few more lights and fences out there, would make a big difference. Next time you are driving through Wisconsin make sure you keep an eye on the road ahead, you never know when a 180 lb doe will be standing in your way. I've never been a big fan of deer hunting, but now I'm all for thinning the herd.