The Messenger. I almost ended a Life...

...it was dark. I was driving my car, on the way back from Taco Bell.

I got a number 4; two chicken gorditas, a soft taco, and a pepsi. The lady at the drive through didn't ask me if I wanted any sauce. After I recieved my food, I had to ask for the sauce. So, the process of 'going to taco bell' to get food was delayed.

I got onto the main street. I was listening to the 80's station. The song playing was, 'owner of a lonely heart'.

I made a left turn into my neighborhood.

I was 5 mph over the speed limit. The limit was 30. It was dark.

FROM NOWHERE, I see an armadillo right in front of me. It was right there - in front of my car. My head lights zoomed in on the sucker.

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It was at this point, my mind went BLANK. I did not think ANYTHING. My mind was like a vacuum. Imagine not thinking ANYTHING (imagine what that would be like). And when I say this - I don't mean, 'thinking about' not 'thinking about anything'. I purely mean - not THINKING ABOUT ANYTHING.

If you are attempting to 'not think about anything', at this time - it won't happen. Because you will ALWAYS be thinking about the fact that you are trying 'hard' not to think about anything.

Well, back on subject...

...so, it was out of instinct that I turned a hard right - I skid. And then, back left to get on the road. I dreaded the next moment, I looked at the side mirror, to see if the armadillo was okay...

...that dam bastard kept walking as if nothing happened! He/She will NEVER now how close his/her life was, to ending.

As I fall asleep, I do so, knowing the lucky bastard will live another day :)

Right now, I will always wonder (lol - oxymoron), what if the lady at the drive through DID ask me for sauce, and saved a few seconds of my time. Would the armadillo be dead?

Maybe she didn't ask me, because she was 'new' or in a 'bad mood'. Maybe both!

It's funny, the lady, will NEVER know that she played a part in saving the life of an armadillo.

I was simply, a go-between - The Messenger.

BTW - I've been out for a while, it's good to be back :)

cool , things like that always happen . i think it happens to everyone more often than we think or realize . like i saved my ex from commiting suicide by dating her ( yes , it was a win vs win situation ) ... i cant really think of a story to tell right off my mind now , but it would be funny to see stories from LF members and anecdotes.

Three nights ago, after a few days of not sleeping well at all, I finally crashed hard into a profoundly deep and dreamless sleep. I swam up out of it to realize my son, a panic-stricken look on face, was shaking me violently, almost yelling, "Dad! Wake up!. Wake up! The building's on fire!" I murmured an "uh-hm" and rolled over back asleep. He roused me again. When my senses coalesced to complete wakefulness, I saw the bedroom was filled with smoke. Couldn't see my hand in front of my face. Though it's not even fifty feet from my bed to the front door of our apartment, by the time we walked it and out of the complex, we were both hacking and teary-eyed.

Here's the punchline: Had my son not been on vacation and at work as his schedule dictates he would have been, and NOT been in the apartment, rather than out or on travel, I would've died of asphyxia three days ago.

I'd call that sheer luck.

Strangely, he went out and got a dog the next day. Don't know if there's a connection.

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Originally Posted by whaywardj

Here's the punchline: Had my son not been on vacation and at work as his schedule dictates he would have been, and NOT been in the apartment, rather than out or on travel, I would've died of asphyxia three days ago.

I'd call that sheer luck.

Strangely, he went out and got a dog the next day. Don't know if there's a connection.

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You are very lucky, W. Glad you are both OK. Think the dog is a great idea. Cute photo. Yours, or his (dog)? Name? He/she? Lots of good exercise walking a dog...

"His" dog I seem to be walking a lot, feeding, and taking to the vet, along with stool samples. (Some things about kids never change.) The Humane Society named him "Rocky." I would've gotten a Doberman, German Shepherd, Dalmation...or SOMETHING considerably larger. I've never cared for little dogs. Always struck me as annoyingly neurotic.

At first, I imagined my son got him by way of an alarm. But, so far, all the little shit does is either silently follow me around, completely underfoot at my every move; sit at my feet, looking at me with this, "Aren't you ashamed of yourself for the way you're treating me?" expression on his face; or poke me with his paw every five minutes as if saying, "What'cha doin', huh? What'cha doin', huh? What'cha doin' huh?" Haven't heard him vocalize in any way even ONCE.

A real pest. Reminds me of one of my ex-wives.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by whaywardj

"His" dog I seem to be walking a lot, feeding, and taking to the vet, along with stool samples. (Some things about kids never change.) The Humane Society named him "Rocky." I would've gotten a Doberman, German Shepherd, Dalmation...or SOMETHING considerably larger. I've never cared for little dogs. Always struck me as annoyingly neurotic.

At first, I imagined my son got him by way of an alarm. But, so far, all the little shit does is either silently follow me around, completely underfoot at my every move; sit at my feet, looking at me with this, "Aren't you ashamed of yourself for the way you're treating me?" expression on his face; or poke me with his paw every five minutes as if saying, "What'cha doin', huh? What'cha doin', huh? What'cha doin' huh?" Haven't heard him vocalize in any way even ONCE.

A real pest. Reminds me of one of my ex-wives.

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lol whaywarj, lol

i'm glad to read that you are ok

i'm sure you will bond with the dog - count on it :)

soon, your son will pick him up, and the dog will be sad to leave YOU, as you will be to leave HIM

it's gonna happen!

Yeah. That's what I'm afraid of. I've been working a LONG time to disentangle myself from worldly attachments. Right now, the dog is just another wrinkle in the stiff collar of a stuffed shirt I'm trying to take off.

Welcome back, RK - we missed you, definately missed your threads!

Great story. :]

Quote:

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Originally Posted by whaywardj

"His" dog I seem to be walking a lot, feeding, and taking to the vet, along with stool samples. (Some things about kids never change.) The Humane Society named him "Rocky." I would've gotten a Doberman, German Shepherd, Dalmation...or SOMETHING considerably larger. I've never cared for little dogs. Always struck me as annoyingly neurotic.

At first, I imagined my son got him by way of an alarm. But, so far, all the little shit does is either silently follow me around, completely underfoot at my every move; sit at my feet, looking at me with this, "Aren't you ashamed of yourself for the way you're treating me?" expression on his face; or poke me with his paw every five minutes as if saying, "What'cha doin', huh? What'cha doin', huh? What'cha doin' huh?" Haven't heard him vocalize in any way even ONCE.

A real pest. Reminds me of one of my ex-wives.

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LOL!

And, I'm with you on the "small dog" thing. I call them "kick me" dogs... a dog needs a brain larger than a walnut in order to be properly trained. Kind of like husbands, now I think of it. ;)

Personally, I'm a Golden Retriver type (but a mutt, tho, not a breed--too hyper).

if you guys like big dogs you would loooooooooooooove my dog sabrina. she's enormous. she's about to turn a year old and she weighs almost 100 pounds. when she stands up she's taller than most people. she's grown a lot from the pics on my myspace page. but she's so gentle and all she wants to do is love and protect.

I like Retrievers and mutts myself. Kinda like Average Joe dogs anybody could get along with. But Dobes have a certain sensitivity many think of as hyper, but I enjoy working with. Kinda have to be real delicate with them to train them in any way. Hurt their feelings and ruin things if you just look at them the wrong way.

Another of my fave breeds is Bouvier des Flandres. Nice, BIG m-f'ers. Couple of acquaintances I used to know had one. Very territorial male, but friendly as hell as long as you didn't cross him. Problem was, they're house (a friggin' mansion, actually) was on a private lake, stocked with swan and geese. Also very territorial.

One night while having dinner, we hear the French doors leading their balcony rattling on their hinges. We all get up to see what it is and, lo! There stands Zeus pounding the doors with his paw, dragging a 30 pound goose hanging out of his mouth by it's neck -- dead as a door nail. Evidentally, they'd crossed swords and the goose had lost. Zeus was bringing home the prize. I could swear that, behind the goose feathers filling his ample jaws, the dog was grinning.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by whaywardj

One night while having dinner, we hear the French doors leading their balcony rattling on their hinges. We all get up to see what it is and, lo! There stands Zeus pounding the doors with his paw, dragging a 30 pound goose hanging out of his mouth by it's neck -- dead as a door nail. Evidentally, they'd crossed swords and the goose had lost. Zeus was bringing home the prize. I could swear that, behind the goose feathers filling his ample jaws, the dog was grinning.

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That's a great story! Great dog, too. I hope they didn't punish him for it...its nice when the beast gets to exercise his animal instincts. He probably thought he was bringing home dinner for the pack. Awesome.

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Originally Posted by misombra

if you guys like big dogs you would loooooooooooooove my dog sabrina. she's enormous. she's about to turn a year old and she weighs almost 100 pounds. when she stands up she's taller than most people. she's grown a lot from the pics on my myspace page. but she's so gentle and all she wants to do is love and protect.

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except when there are things with wheels around, then she wants to be protected. :) she's so cute.