Round Two: Deer vs. Neon

On May 15th, 1997, I wrote the last payment on our little Dodge Neon. It was finally paid for. I also stopped by the local tire place and got a new tire to replace a rear one that was showing wear.

On May 17th, my wife ran into town on a morning errand. She let the kids sleep, even though normally she would have taken at least one along for this trip.

I got the phone call as I was loading the boat with stuff. It was a weekend day and we were planning on getting out on the Gulf when she returned.
Her voice was trembling as she told me about the deer that had dashed in front of her only a mile away from our driveway.
"I wrecked the car, "she said.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes, but..."
"It's allright, I'll be right there", I interrupted.

When I got there, she was standing beside a topsy turvy Neon. She had swerved, hit the sand shoulder, and the tires dug in and flipped it.

"Are you SURE you're okay?" I asked. She's a nurse, but even so, I was worried adrenaline was interfering with her professional assessment.She had been wearing her seat belt and it had saved her neck...literally.

She was fine, but would I mine getting the turtle out of the car before the wrecker and state trooper arrived?

Huh?

She had rescued a road crossing turtle about a mile before the accident and was bringing it home to me. I walked over to the car and sure enough a turtle was frantically trying to climb the inverted glass of the windshield. He was basically running in place as the glass offered no friction. I crawled in through the window, grabbed him, and let him go in the nearby woods.

This time the deer escaped unharmed.

The Neon was totaled. I found this ironic since we had just paid it off and put a new tire on it. Also, a week earlier, I had looked out my bedroom window to see Kate and Emma (9 and 7) walking around on the top of it and having a great time. By the time I got to them, they had put permanent dents in the roof of the car and I remember at the time thinking..."Great, just great...there goes a thousand dollars of resale value!"
In it's current position, those marks were not really going to be an issue after all.

I can imagine that turtle sitting around with his other turtle buddies and telling tales. When it's his turn, all the other turtles listen raptly as he begins...

"Fellows, if you are ever crossing the great asphalt strip of death and a blonde lady stops to rescue you, run like HELL!"