My neighbor is 88 years old. He is a veteran, and up until the last few years- he loyally walked in every parade with the Vets, served at funerals for other Vets, and placed flags on graves for Memorial Day. Between our homes there is a line of creeping roses that his wife planted years ago that I weed out now and then, she passed away sometime long before we moved here. He has an older dog- a intensely aged Shepard that woddles around deaf and almost blind. Out of what I can only assume to be sheer confusion- he never did it before- the old dog has taken to wondering around our yard. The gentleman next door lives alone, which has caused me more worry than you can imagine. After a recent 23 day stay at Wright Patterson, he brought home another dog- the cutest little thing you've ever seen. It often outruns him, and ends up in our yard. It brings much entertainment to the children- who jump and yell that the puppy is loose... again.
I bring all of this up for a reason.
My kitchen window gives me a good view of the cars that ignore the speed limit on our little semi country road. For years I've complained that one day, one of the many many little kids on the street is going to get hit by a car. During the school year, it's so bad, the police monitor the road during pickup and drop of times for the buses. We regularly have cars that will pass stopped buses... without a second thought to the children who may be crossing. Summer doesn't give me anymore relaxation from the traffic, because it just means that kids are crossing all day, rather than just twice a day.
So, a few days ago- as I prepared to leave the house for a quick run out to pick up a few things, my heart stopped when I heard- not the screeching of tires from a car attempting to stop- but the loud thud of something being hit. In a flash I imagined that the sound was a child. I froze, unable to move just for that second- fearing the slight chance that I'd have to see a small child laying out there. But just as quickly as I heard the thud, another painful noise appeared and lingered for a moment. Yelping. Not the normal sound of an animal, not quite the sound of a child. I looked up, forcing myself to glance out the window, just catching the view of a small dog running off.
The man next door had been preparing to take the small dog outside when it escaped him, and made it out the door alone. He had went to retrieve it's lease, and when he returned to the door- the dog stood there ready to come in. I'd ran over, and after a few minutes of waiting for him to answer the door- he's on oxygen and isn't the fastest walker in the world now a days- I wondered if he'd even realised what happened. When he answered the door, and I along with a concerned passerby who had seen the dog get hit and had decided to stop, had to fill him in on what happened. The driver of the car returned a few minutes later- she explained she'd not seen the dog, and by the time she had- she was unable to stop as there was a car close behind her, and unable to swerve as there were oncoming cars.
We checked the little dog over, with the woman who hit it offering to take it to a doctor. My neighbor can no longer drive, and with oxygen is rather bonded to staying home.
The dog is fine, or so it seems. A little cut up on it's mouth, and a few drops of blood from scrapes on it's legs- but better than I'd expected. And far from the worst case of what could have been.
I suppose we could say we were lucky it wasn't a child, but to many their pets are like their children. And, I can't imagine that anyone would rather get somewhere a few moments earlier, over getting somewhere without hurting a child. It's not so hard to drive a little slower. To keep a better eye on the road and drive a little more cautiously.
Yes, I suppose it would make your speeding less of a big deal if we kept all animals and children safely within our yards, and out of the streets. But, my child or my neighbor's "child" crossing the street isn't illegal. Your speeding 25 miles over the posted limit, while talking on your cell phone and not watching the road is.
Do you really want to hear that thud, and know that your lack of attention has cost a life, or an injury?
I bring all of this up for a reason.
My kitchen window gives me a good view of the cars that ignore the speed limit on our little semi country road. For years I've complained that one day, one of the many many little kids on the street is going to get hit by a car. During the school year, it's so bad, the police monitor the road during pickup and drop of times for the buses. We regularly have cars that will pass stopped buses... without a second thought to the children who may be crossing. Summer doesn't give me anymore relaxation from the traffic, because it just means that kids are crossing all day, rather than just twice a day.
So, a few days ago- as I prepared to leave the house for a quick run out to pick up a few things, my heart stopped when I heard- not the screeching of tires from a car attempting to stop- but the loud thud of something being hit. In a flash I imagined that the sound was a child. I froze, unable to move just for that second- fearing the slight chance that I'd have to see a small child laying out there. But just as quickly as I heard the thud, another painful noise appeared and lingered for a moment. Yelping. Not the normal sound of an animal, not quite the sound of a child. I looked up, forcing myself to glance out the window, just catching the view of a small dog running off.
The man next door had been preparing to take the small dog outside when it escaped him, and made it out the door alone. He had went to retrieve it's lease, and when he returned to the door- the dog stood there ready to come in. I'd ran over, and after a few minutes of waiting for him to answer the door- he's on oxygen and isn't the fastest walker in the world now a days- I wondered if he'd even realised what happened. When he answered the door, and I along with a concerned passerby who had seen the dog get hit and had decided to stop, had to fill him in on what happened. The driver of the car returned a few minutes later- she explained she'd not seen the dog, and by the time she had- she was unable to stop as there was a car close behind her, and unable to swerve as there were oncoming cars.
We checked the little dog over, with the woman who hit it offering to take it to a doctor. My neighbor can no longer drive, and with oxygen is rather bonded to staying home.
The dog is fine, or so it seems. A little cut up on it's mouth, and a few drops of blood from scrapes on it's legs- but better than I'd expected. And far from the worst case of what could have been.
I suppose we could say we were lucky it wasn't a child, but to many their pets are like their children. And, I can't imagine that anyone would rather get somewhere a few moments earlier, over getting somewhere without hurting a child. It's not so hard to drive a little slower. To keep a better eye on the road and drive a little more cautiously.
Yes, I suppose it would make your speeding less of a big deal if we kept all animals and children safely within our yards, and out of the streets. But, my child or my neighbor's "child" crossing the street isn't illegal. Your speeding 25 miles over the posted limit, while talking on your cell phone and not watching the road is.
Do you really want to hear that thud, and know that your lack of attention has cost a life, or an injury?