Death of a Family

Yesterday I took a trip to Ann Arbor with my Beloved to attend an outdoor antique show. It was a beautiful day, perfect weather for eating funnel cakes and sipping lemonade while looking at all the wonderful items from days gone by. We found some great treasures and came home happy. Happy until I saw the most horrible thing I have ever seen. There, on the side of the road, was a mother opossum that had been hit by a car. And scattered around her were her babies, no bigger than the size of hamsters. At least ten of them. All dead. I burst into tears and sobbed. I have seen some horrible things in my life, but this one hit me the hardest.

I wondered how many other people saw this and what their reactions were? Fortunately my Beloved did not. On the way to Ann Arbor, we also saw a mother deer and her fawn, dead on the side of the road. And a family of raccoons. And dozens of other animals, including two beautiful coyotes.  Did you know that more animals are killed by cars in one day in the U.S. than are killed by hunting and slaughter combined in a year? We are talking millions. And that does not include all the butterflies, bumbles bees, honeybees, dragonflies, and other insects that meet their end in the radiator grill or windshield. Those estimates are millions per day on one stretch of highway alone!

A friend of my sister's, who reads this blog, said that I was one of the 20% (as is she) of our population who are considered hypersensitive individuals. I would argue that I am not hypersensitive, the other 80% have become desensitized, and by claiming I (and the other folks in this category) am hypersensitive is part of their desensitized state.

When did we take the turn to find it acceptable to kill so many animals for no reason other than to drive fast down an asphalt or concrete stretch of road? When did we as a culture decide that millions of senseless deaths of animals (and people) was worth it as long as we saved time getting from point a to point b. If we rode horses, or rode in carriages, or rode bicycles, or walked, SLOWED DOWN, we could reduce these numbers to almost zero. Even driving at much slower speeds in cars could significantly reduce the number of deaths.

But as a society we don't care, at least not enough to do anything about it. I would challenge you to say a prayer, or at the very least, intentionally look for these animals that lay alone on the side of the road or in the middle of it. See if you have desensitized yourself to these deaths. My hunch is you will be shocked at what you find out. At least I hope so. I would hate to think we have gone so far from caring for our fellow creatures that this would not touch a heart.

I have changed my lifestyle and continue to do so in order to minimize the odds of taking the life of a fellow creature. I do this out of love. I love all My Relations - the animals, birds, fish, trees, plants, all of them. Deeply. So I do not drive at night unless I absolutely have to, which is almost never. I avoid driving during dusk and dawn when they are most active. I don't drive nearly as much as I used to. It has been a very long time since I have hit an animal. I attribute it to my changes.

I know that I can't change the world, or slow it down, or even expect that these words will touch a single soul. But I can hope that if even one person sends out a prayer, or slows down a bit, maybe one innocent life can be saved. And that is a start.