PAST

July 17, 2001

NEXT

* Stupid Deer *

    First of all, I'd like to say congratulations to a friend that just told
me that they are going to start "wait training".
            I guess that means that they will be able to stand in long lines
without complaining.

    So, I'm driving down Skyline Drive up in the Blue Ridge Mountains in my
Dodge Stealth. Its a marvelously beautiful day. Its starting to get a little
late in the afternoon and the animals started coming out and were grazing
around alongside the road.
    Now I have always been in awe, amazement, and feel so very fortunate
when I have come across a wild animal in the past. Then to get close enough
to take a picture or even dare to touch one. Its simply a breathtaking
experience.
    So as I'm driving I came across this beautiful doe just grazing on the
side of the highway. So as not to startle her I slowed my vehicle way down
and crept up to her. I was lucky, she didn't move and it appeared that my
"Stealthy" approach had worked perfectly in my favor. I got up a little bit
closer, and then even closer than that until my car was sitting right beside
the deer. I couldn't believe it. There I was not more than twenty feet from
a totally wild animal. I quickly but silently grabbed my camera out of my
bag and began to take a few pictures. The deer had obviously not even
noticed me because it made no indication that I was even on the same planet.
The only problem was that I couldn't get a clear shot of its head and face.
I got my camera ready and made a slight noise. The deer didn't move. I made
another, not so slight, noise. Still nothing. I then said quietly, "Uh-hem,
excuse me." and still nothing.
    I whistled and yelled and shouted for quite a while when the deer
finally raised its head, looked at me with a disgusted look as if it were
really tired of me, I got a quick shot just before it lowered its head again
and continued to totally shun and ignore me.
    I then said, with a harsh voice, "You are a STUPID deer! And you know,
you're just about one genetic step from a JACK-A_ _!" and I drove away.

    Evidently the animals up there as well as many of our national parks get
fed by people too much and have become a little too familiar with our
presence. This is a bad thing. One, it causes them to come too close to the
highway where they can get hit by vehicles. People end up feeding them
things that they cannot digest properly so they suffer and die. But it also
causes the more dangerous and aggressive animals, such as bears, to come to
close to humans. They are still somewhat wild and unpredictable animals and
can turn on you when they don't always get what they want. Unfortunately
wild animals are often times shot and/or destroyed because they attack
people that should not have been there in the first place.

        When in the outdoors never feed  the wildlife and respect their home
and space.
    It can turn what should be a nice beautiful wildlife sanctuary into
nothing more than a cheap petting zoo.