Dear Squirrel who ran across the street…

Did you die? Or did you survive?

Never before have I ran over an animal while driving. Anytime I’ve ended up in that situation, I’ve managed to swerve around it or slam the brakes.

Today, I’d like to think I dodged it… but I’m not sure. And it’s been on my mind since. Why run across the street when cars are zooming by?? Why cross the street at all?? What is across the street that you can’t get on the side of the street that you’re on??

Ok I know there must be a reason why the squirrel wanted to cross the street… but in that moment I found myself wondering… what was so important for this little guy that he had to cross?? I didn’t feel my car go over anything, and in that flash of a moment I thought I saw it stop, away from my car… perhaps turn around and run back. Horrified I looked looked at my rear view mirror to see if there was any roadkill. I don’t think I saw anything at all…. then again I was also driving at 40mph and had to pay attention to the busy road ahead of me… so I only got a glance.

Then another squirrel crossed my path. Damn it I thought. No I didn’t hit it, I watched it safely cross. I don’t think I hit the first one either… but it got me thinking. Just like us they have intention, they have a thought process.

Just like us, sometimes they want or need to cross the street! Just like us…

They’ve got their day’s work laid out for them!

One thought on “Dear Squirrel who ran across the street…”

I know how you feel Sayli. I wish we knew what they feel.
When I was 4, my curiosity literally killed a cat. I tried to call her, she was hiding beneath a car. I took a couple of steps towards her, and she ran across the road. I saw her getting ran over; she still dragged herself across the street. I rushed towards her, and sat besides her.
I still remember seeing her take the last breath. I ran about 10 blocks to my home crying. Your blog reminded me of this memory.
In both our cases, we inadvertently interfered in ‘their’ worlds; not the other way round I feel.
It was an accident. An unfortunate one.
I am sure the squirrel made it. Either way, we are sorry.

Thanks for the blog.

Pranav says:

June 10, 2021 at 10:43 pm

I know how you feel Sayli. I wish we knew what they feel.
When I was 4, my curiosity literally killed a cat. I tried to call her, she was hiding beneath a car. I took a couple of steps towards her, and she ran across the road. I saw her getting ran over; she still dragged herself across the street. I rushed towards her, and sat besides her.
I still remember seeing her take the last breath. I ran about 10 blocks to my home crying. Your blog reminded me of this memory.
In both our cases, we inadvertently interfered in ‘their’ worlds; not the other way round I feel.
It was an accident. An unfortunate one.
I am sure the squirrel made it. Either way, we are sorry.

Thanks for the blog.