Oh Deer Me

Yesterday, I had a horrific experience. It was a kind of -- life is so tenuous combined with, there but for God (or my family who are at permanent rest in what we call, Florida) go I. The trip began at our home in the town of Newburgh, N.Y. It was about 10am and I was on my way to meet my Aunt Irene for lunch. The book on CD that played in the car, was not compelling, you can’t drive with compelling, but it was pleasant. The car was on automatic pilot, my hands were at the 10 and 2 position on the wheel, and as always, my eyes were on the road and whatever was in front of me. At mile 58 on the NY Thruway, I spotted a doe standing peacefully on the side of the highway. She seemed to be looking across the highway, maybe for a friend or just a change of scenery, but all I could think was, surely she’s not going to try to cross this busy major road. Deer have pretty good eyesight, right? Wrong. She was either blinded by sunlight, or just confused. Any way, in anticipation of what I thought might be a BDD (Bad Doe Decision), I slowed down enough so when she darted out, it was not in front of my car. It was in front of the car just ahead of me in the left lane. It hit her straight on. From that moment it seemed like everything happened in slow motion. The deer twirled around high in the air and then she splattered on the same side of the road where she had been standing. I didn’t have enough time to see if all her parts were attached, but she was no longer of this earth. What little traffic there was, was moving quickly enough to prevent me from pulling over. A car in back of me did and I called 911. The car in the left lane spun around and the slid off the road. According to the Thruway police, the car was totaled, but the people were OK. There were no reports of fatalities.. That’s the good news. Actually there is not bad news. We all have our own set of beliefs – they keep us in the game. My cousin Debbie and I had a conversation yesterday about why it was so important to me to make sure Gefilte Fish Chronicles, the Musical was a success. Was I trying to prove something to my mother? I did promise my mother and her sisters, that I would create a musical about them. That why is simple. When I think about them, I see them singing and dancing. It’s what they did professionally as children, but just for fun as they grew old. So here’s what I am sure happened yesterday. They were sitting around, probably playing cards, when someone looked down and said –uh oh, there could be trouble. If we don’t do something we might not make it to Broadway, especially if that deer has it’s way. And so they held the doe long enough for it to pass me.( I guess the other guys family wasn’t paying as close attention.). Did they save me because they love me, of course. But did they know that if something happened to me their chances of universal fame, would be less likely. Oh yes, And when you think about it – of course it was always all about sharing them with the world.