I'll never forget going into the doctor's office to get treated for a cut a while back and watching a man walking out on crutches, with a cast on his elbow and bandages on his head.
I whispered to the doctor while nodding silently at the man as he walked by, "Car accident?"
"Yes," the doctor whispered drawing nearer. "He tried to avoid a squirrel and crashed over an embankment and rolled over into a brook."
A similar accident happened in Lebanon on Wednesday morning when a motorist crashed into a utility pole near the corner of Center and TM Wentworth roads in West Lebanon.
Lebanon Fire-EMS reported that the driver said they were trying to avoid a squirrel when the accident occurred.
Luckily the injuries were said to be only minor.
But they could have just as easily been serious.
Now I know a lot of people of a certain age may fondly remember Rocky from Rocky and Bullwinkle fame and younger people may think of Sandy, a sidekick on SpongeBob SquarePants, as a beloved character, but folks, let's remember this.
They're rodents. Take away the squirrel's cute, bushy tail and you're looking at a rather large unattractive rat. (Question: Is there such a thing as an attractive rat?)
Hey, don't get me wrong. I've braked for many, many squirrels in my day.
But I've done a few in as well, truth be told.
What it comes down to is this. You have to realize in a split second, if there is any, I mean any, risk to you and the passengers in your car.
If there is, even a hint, you got to schmush the little feller.
You know how in baseball a tie goes to the runner?
Well, when it comes down to a possible accident, the tie goes to you, not the squirrel.