Bunnies happen

We returned to Holbrook from Mesa late last night arriving home at 1:30 AM with a carful of stuff, most of which we left there until this morning. The purpose of the trip was to celebrate at a banquet with Nichelle, the attainments she has gained in the several years she has spent as a youth leader. She has been involved in Boys and Girls Club of Greater Scottsdale for 10 years and has learned so much. She is a sparkle as a result of the path she has taken. We are so proud of her and her delightful personality.

Another reason for our trip was a convenient time to have a family gathering to remember my Father. It was his birthday and he would have been 108. We had a whip cream and pudding dessert with strawberries, Yum! and an informal opportunity to celebrate the day and sing Happy Birthday to Grandpa Joe.

It would be appropriate also to note the other occurrence on our way home. We sent 2 bunnies to their eternal reward. When Laura, Dallan and Kay had their turns driving Grandpa Joe’s little white truck, they managed to run across (to their demise) a few small animals. There was a trophy display on the dashboard of the truck which included hand-drawn pictures of several bunnies and a half a cat. Grandpa Joe would have been proud since he had made visceral contact with a number of errant animals in his travels over the canal roads of Mesilla Valley, New Mexico.

Dan and I were involved in conversation when there was a loud noise under the car. Dan asked "what was that?!!" Half a second later, the other half of a committed bunny couple appeared on the road with a "Far Side"Comics look on its surprised face as we ran over it, making the same loud noise. Oh, that’s what it was the first time. I commented that we had earned a couple of bunny trophy pictures for our dashboard.

Some may feel scandalized by a cavalier attitude towards little furry innocent deaths, but unfortunately roadkill happens. The road was busy last night. We are always on the lookout for elk that sometimes jump into the roadway. Dan caught sight of a coyote along the way. We had almost made contact with another surprised bunny earlier. I made a scary noise and Dan swerved which he wouldn’t have if I hadn’t sounded an alarm. But the fortunate, surprised bunny scurried away unharmed. When we drove into the midnight traffic in Payson, we saw in a blur several javelina crossing the road, in town, no less. That was a little unnerving. I’m wondering how many people in Payson open their doors to check on the mail or the snowfall to see a menacing looking javelina coming up the walk. That would have been more than a loud noise if we had made visceral contact. Luckily we went on our way unharmed.