DOE A DEER, A FEMALE DEER.....

Dear Auntie Patti Koh,

I was on my way home from work at 2am and my usual route towards the toll is always the forest preserve outside the boundary of O'Hare airport.

There was not much light in the area, I was running the designated miles per hour drive and BANG!!! I hit a deer. It did not dent my car, because the front fender of my SUV is I think sturdy enough to withstand the impact of the hit from the deer.

I called immediately the police, so that it could be relayed to the forest preserve crew in the morning, in case the deer carcass is in the middle of the road. I did not step out of the car, I had my emergency blinker on, in case there are cars that is behind me. There's not much traffic on this road this time of the early morning.

The police came in an instant. I told him, I think I hit a deer and wanted to be sure that I hit a deer not a person or a THING! He told me to stay inside my car, and he used his powerful light to scan the area and the perimeter of the forest preserve. For fifteen minutes, the policeman is scanning the entire area, but we cannot find a deer. There is a sign that I did hit something, a fur is stuck in the fender of the car and it was a deer's fur.

Then the policeman said to me he will go further down the road, towards the small bridge and asked me if I am willing to help him. He was giving me a flashlight, I said I have one handy in my car, a flashlight for winter and it has a good beam. We search the side of the bridge and the grassy knoll, there is no deer.

Then a rustle from the marshes by the water bank -- and there was a group of deer moving around from the foot of the bushes at the side of the bridge along the west fork of the river that has its tributary to the Chiczgo river. There are three adult female deer and at least four does in tow. It looks like I hit the male deer and it was limping behind the herd. The policeman said it looks like the male deer will be okey but will advise the forest preserve ranger in the morning to go inside the preserve in case something happened with the male deer.

I felt so depressed about it. What if the head of the clan dies because of me. What if I paralyzed the male deer or maimed the deer. There was so many if's on my mind. I was really disturb. This is the 2nd time I have hit a deer and the first one died instantly. But this one, I hope I did not maimed the poor deer.

And then this morning -- on my day off, a good friend of ours called me and asked me if I want a deer burger. So I was asking myself if this friend of ours knew about what happened. So I related the story to him and he died laughing. My friend said he went to Wisconsin and came across a store that sells deer jerky meat and sausage and burger. I declined the offer --- I dont want to eat Bambi.

I am sure Auntie Patti Koh -- if this thing happened back home, it will be a feast. Roasted deer for the whole gang while I am singing....
"Doe --- a deer, a female deer...."