Goosed

A goose?  Who hits a goose?

I was driving home after shopping at our local big box store and there it was on the side of the road - its long neck hanging half-way over the line between the shoulder and the pavement. 

But hey, I’m a country girl.  I’ve seen my share of nature and life, and death is a part of it.  I’m used to seeing deer, cats, dogs, raccoon, an occasional possum, even a garbage bag or two...but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a goose. 

How can one not see a goose flying that low?  Geese are pretty large in nature.  And loud!  There it is, honking away, minding its own business.  It was probably flying with at least two or three other geese, and here you come racing down Hwy 3 in your Chevy Tahoe, a bale of hay bouncing around in the back, listening to Billy Cyrus on your FM radio not paying attention to what you're doing.  Or it could have been a Ford S-10, which is what my husband drives.  Doesn't matter, I guess.  You see, we live in a pile of country here in Minnesota and that's just the way it is here.  Miles of farm land in between towns.  We see a lot of trucks.  Usually beat-up, rusty ones.

Maybe you were even texting on your new Samsung Galaxy S4 and didn’t see it.  Whatever.  You were preoccupied.  Certainly not giving the road your undivided attention. 

Maybe you didn't even notice that anything hit you.  A bird that size would certainly make you sit up and take notice, I would think.  But then, this is Minnesota and we are known for our potholes.  If you don't know what a pothole is, you haven't been to Minnesota.  It's like a sinkhole, only with a bottom.  And smaller.  But they can take out an S-10 if you aren't paying attention.

But a goose?  I’m still shaking my head.