Well, I've survived another wreck

[PatrickforO]

39. Yeah, I do too. Thing is, hitting the animal is better than injuring yourself. I learned

that lesson vicariously long ago, thankfully. Not one you want to learn the hard way.

I knew this lady named Evelyn. She and her husband were fairly wealthy and had some horses. Evelyn had a jeep and one day she was driving. A deer came out in the road. She veered away, rolled the jeep and ended up in a wheelchair, paralyzed.

Oh, she started a horseback therapy organization that helped handicapped kids, so she did some good stuff. But once, she and I were talking about the accident and how she'd made lemonade out of lemons, and she gazed out of their picture window at the stand of pine trees that blocked view of their house from the road.

In spite of the beauty of the day, a great sadness emanated from her. A tear ran down her cheek.

"I'm sick of pine trees," she said.

I've never forgotten that moment, or the vicarious lesson. So, I hit the brakes if an animal jumps out, but I don't swerve.