Oh Deer!

[Unka Bart <mendicant@buddhist.com>]

Horch, August writes:

 > Coming home from Fort Collins on Friday night, enjoying some spirited
 > driving on one of the few twisty roads in Colorado, I came up over a
 > hill doing about 60 & find a poor Doe standing right in the middle of
 > the road.  I hit the brakes and dove for the ditch.  The doe, of course,
 > ran straight for the car; I hit the doe & the ditch at about the same
 > time.  I'll save you the gorry details, but there isnt' much left of
 > Audi or deer (altho the Audi made it home afterwards...)  :-(  Anyone
 > out there with experience with those deer whistle's I've seen?  Do they
 > really work?  Any favorite brands?  I really don't want to be
 > responsible for the loss of anymore animal life.  Many thanks.

Bummer, August, definitely a major bummer!  Sorry to hear it, amigo!

In yesterday's Crab-Wrapper (local newspaper), the department of Natural
Resources published a set of guidelines to motorists regarding the deer
population explosion we are experiencing here on the east coast.  Their
strong advice is 1)  Do NOT swerve to avoid deer.  (Your experience is a
sad validation of the wisdom of that); and 2) Do not waste your money on
"Deer Whistles."  They are unable to find a single data point showing that
they have any effectiveness at all.

I know how overjoyed you are at all the help with the barn door, now that
the horse is gone, but what can I say...?

We all feel you pain, however!

yer kindly ol' Unka Bart