An Addendum to the Deer Essay

I've gotten responses back from at least 4 continents from others who have either had a similar experience in some way, or who have been able to draw something from my experience and thereby learn from it. It seems to have struck a nerve almost unanimously in people all around the globe, and I'm sure it will continue to send ripples out as time goes on.

I'm glad for the fact that she didn't die in vain, and that she was able to communicate some of that lesson to me.

A few follow-up notes:

• Her body lay in the ditch for almost a week. Whomever it was that was supposed to pick her up wasn't in much of a hurry. After the first night, it seems that someone pushed her farther over into the ditch, into where a bit of water was flowing by, but didn't actually do anything about removing the body. I'm a bit surprised at that, since this was only a couple of hundred yards from an elementary school, and I'm sure that children walked by there daily. Again I wonder: Would they have left a human body laying in a watery ditch near a school for a week before removing it?

• A few days afterwards, as she was still there, I stopped in town and bought a single, long-stemmed red rose for the deer. My girlfriend and I went back to the body and said our final farewells. (She had been following in another car and was there for the accident and aftermath.)

• As I was saying goodbye, I noticed that her great big eyes never did close. They were cloudy and dim, now, and getting dirt in them, but they stayed open right to the end, and beyond.

• I've seen many other (live) deer along the roadside since then, and have found my spirits raised each time. The life-cycle continues, and I now celebrate it at every chance I get.