erislynn
Shiny_Rock
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2016
- Messages
- 186
Today I was driving on my way to run some errands. It was a cold but otherwise pleasant December day, without rain or snow. I was practicing gratitude for these simple things as part of a new routine, and feeling pretty good about my day. As I was stopped behind a few cars at a light, I took the time to notice the trees and the buildings around me. The wind was picking up a little bit, and I was grateful for the warm, cozy air in my car.
The light changed. I began to slowly increase speed. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a tumbling crinkled maple leaf. It tumbled but never floated at all. Strange. I snuck a glance directly at it, and by this time my car was already passing it. It wasn’t a leaf. It was a baby squirrel. I kept checking my side view mirror hoping that it would safely make it across.
The truck behind me wasn’t aware of it and was only interested in passing me. I thought I had seen the poor squirrel not make it past the truck’s front left tire. I thought I saw the exact moment, and something sunk in my stomach. As the truck passed me to the left, I kept looking at his tire tracks, expecting traces of red. When I actually saw red lines, I was shocked. I didn’t want to believe it. I was trying to continue driving and at the same time, grieving for the squirrel and at the same time, hoping it didn’t really happen. To my relief, I then realized the red lines were lane reflectors for people driving the wrong way.
I continued on my errand and made it a point on the way back, to check if the baby squirrel made it. I arrived back at the same intersection, and no question, on the opposite side of the road was a tiny flattened body.
One moment the squirrel was alive, and the next moment it was dead. I saw that moment. It was just trying to cross the road.
I went home and sobbed my eyes out. If only I had stopped the truck behind me? If only I had willed the light to not turn green yet? If only I had gone so fast that the truck would have missed the squirrel? These all didn’t matter because the poor baby squirrel was dead. I’ve seen roadkill, I’ve seen worse, but it’s not about that. Maybe it’s about the fact that this was a baby as small as a leaf. It didn’t even get a chance. But actually it wouldn’t have been any less horrible if it were an adult. I love animals and this was such a devastating thing to witness.
After a while, I looked up what can be done in these situations and found that there’s a city in Washington that actually has squirrel bridges. What a great idea! I would want to have more built in other cities and especially at that intersection today.
The light changed. I began to slowly increase speed. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a tumbling crinkled maple leaf. It tumbled but never floated at all. Strange. I snuck a glance directly at it, and by this time my car was already passing it. It wasn’t a leaf. It was a baby squirrel. I kept checking my side view mirror hoping that it would safely make it across.
The truck behind me wasn’t aware of it and was only interested in passing me. I thought I had seen the poor squirrel not make it past the truck’s front left tire. I thought I saw the exact moment, and something sunk in my stomach. As the truck passed me to the left, I kept looking at his tire tracks, expecting traces of red. When I actually saw red lines, I was shocked. I didn’t want to believe it. I was trying to continue driving and at the same time, grieving for the squirrel and at the same time, hoping it didn’t really happen. To my relief, I then realized the red lines were lane reflectors for people driving the wrong way.
I continued on my errand and made it a point on the way back, to check if the baby squirrel made it. I arrived back at the same intersection, and no question, on the opposite side of the road was a tiny flattened body.
One moment the squirrel was alive, and the next moment it was dead. I saw that moment. It was just trying to cross the road.
I went home and sobbed my eyes out. If only I had stopped the truck behind me? If only I had willed the light to not turn green yet? If only I had gone so fast that the truck would have missed the squirrel? These all didn’t matter because the poor baby squirrel was dead. I’ve seen roadkill, I’ve seen worse, but it’s not about that. Maybe it’s about the fact that this was a baby as small as a leaf. It didn’t even get a chance. But actually it wouldn’t have been any less horrible if it were an adult. I love animals and this was such a devastating thing to witness.
After a while, I looked up what can be done in these situations and found that there’s a city in Washington that actually has squirrel bridges. What a great idea! I would want to have more built in other cities and especially at that intersection today.
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