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I ran over a squirrel the other day.  I didn’t mean to.  Driving along minding my own business, I saw the squirrel running across the road but I figured he’d be on the other side by the time I got anywhere near him.  That’s what they always do, right?  Not.  This fuzzy little thing STOPPED on the centre line, shook his tail, turned around and ran back his starting point.  BUT, half way there, he turned again…and again.  He had NO idea where he was going.  He was confused.  What could I do?  I couldn’t swerve;  he was still on the move.  I hit him.  I felt it.  Thud…..Squirrel meets his maker.

Of course I felt awful.  I’ve never run over any living thing.  Ever.  In fact, I often swerve to avoid impact.  There wasn’t any time to take evasive action.  It all happened so fast.  Then I got mad, ranting to the road kill, “why on earth would you stop in the middle of the road?” “Don’t you know the rule about not changing direction?”

This squirrel was obviously untrained and should not have been let loose.  That just made me feel worse. A young squirrel, perhaps his first road crossing after squirrel training school.  His parents standing behind him, cheering him on, encouraging him as he set out on his first crossing.  Once they realized he was turning back, well, they had to know he was toast.

What a way to start the new year.