TheBanyanTree: On a dark and foggy morning . . .

[Margaret R. Kramer]

It was 4:00 am.  I slid the back patio door shut and headed out to the
garage.  It was 60 degrees for gosh sakes, at the end of October.  I was
wearing my sweatshirt jacket, but I threw it in the trunk along with my
purse.  It was too warm and humid to wear that.  It wasn’t really drizzling,
but more like a fine mist filling the air.  I put my gym bag on the back
seat and got in the car.  I started her up and backed out of the driveway.

The car’s windows immediately fogged up on the inside and became waterlogged
on the outside.  I got the wipers and the defroster going and opened my side
window to help defog the inside.  The humidity must be at 100%.

I pulled out onto the main road.  The fog was hugging the pavement, looking
like those graveyard scenes we see in scary movies.  The wipers flapped back
and forth.  I turned on the radio and began adjusting the volume.  My sleepy
brain was beginning to slowly function when I saw it . . .

A small doe casually crossing the road just a few feet ahead of me.  As I
registered how close she was, I could almost see my thoughts process.
Should I stop suddenly or swerve?  I chose to swerve and skidded across the
pavement.  The doe looked up at this huge black monster approaching her and
chose to turn around and zip back into the woods.  I’m glad she decided
that, because I might have hit her in my swerve if she decided to cross the
street.  As my brain continued to replay this incident, I decided should
have stopped suddenly instead.

My heart didn’t start pounding and I wasn’t shaking after this close
encounter.  I guess I’m getting used to deer appearing magically at weird
times, especially in the dark, on the road.

But as I drove on, I saw a few hundred feet ahead of me a large deer
crossing the road.  I slowed down and through the mist and fog, I saw it was
a buck with a relatively large set of antlers.  I wish I had a camera and
could frame this moment – a buck moving through the fog.

I stopped when I came along side of him.  He stopped, too.  We looked at
each other for a moment, like we were exchanging “good mornings.”  Then I
drove on and he sauntered across the lawn and disappeared behind the house.

I pushed on the gas pedal and continued my journey to the gym.  The fog had
risen from the road’s surface and expanded so I couldn’t see anything but
the white lines on the road.  I was being engulfed by the ghosts who lived
in the bushes and trees.

But they did me no harm as I drove through their outstretched arms.  I
turned the corner and I saw the club’s greenish lights and I found my spot
in the parking lot.  I was safe.  This early morning pre-Halloween spell did
not stop me from swimming my 50 laps.

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at comcast.net

http://www.polarispublications.com
Be a star!

http://www.bpwmn.org
Business and Professional Women of Minnesota

You wouldn't believe
On All Hallow Eve
What lots of fun we can make,
With apples to bob,
And nuts on the hob,
And a ring-and-thimble cake.
~Carolyn Wells