Irony
I didn't write about this when it happened on Wednesday evening. But it's the reason I stayed up until midnight that night and finished "Grand Obsession".
Normally Teri and Sebastian pick me up at the train station in the evening. But on Wednesday I made a mistake and thought that I was having dinner with my father and brother that night. For some reason I completely forgot that my father had called a few days earlier and told me that we needed to reschedule. Brain glitch, I guess.
Anyway, Teri had left our car at the station for me to drive home (her mother drove there with her and took her out to dinner after). I took the train home; it was earlier than I had expected (if dinner had happened), but later than normal. I found the car, hopped in, and headed home.
As I was driving, my cell phone rang.
Now, I want to emphasize that I did NOT take my eyes off the road. I reached for the phone in my jacket pocket, but was still watching the road.
And that's when a large dog, probably a golden retriever, jumped out from between two parked cars - straight in front of my car.
I slammed on the brakes, but I'd had almost no warning at all; he'd jumped out less than ten feet from me. Fortunately I wasn't going at all fast. But still, I hit him fairly hard as I came to a stop.
I don't think he went down; if he did, he was up again almost instantly. He was carrying something large, a newspaper I think, and he didn't drop it. But there was a definite "thump", and I'm pretty sure I felt the impact. But the tires didn't go over him; as far as I can tell he was simply hit by the front of my car (and when I checked it later, the car had no damage at all).
Whether he was knocked down or not, a second later he ran across the street, across a yard, and was out of sight. I saw no sign of a limp. So I started up again and drove home.
I was pretty upset, although I'd have been much more upset if I'd killed him or visibly hurt him. Teri called back, and I didn't treat her well; she told me I should call the police, and I freaked out a little.
By the time I got home I was a little numb and pretty angry. There's a leash law in that town, damn it! Dogs are supposed to be tied up.
And then I thought, "suppose that the dog's owner was just a boy, like Sebastian, who wanted his dog to run free a little?"
That made me feel bad, I can tell you!
But on top of it all I was weirded out; the similarities between what had happened and "Grand Obsession" weren't shockingly close, but they were close enough to freak me out.
And that's why I ended up staying up and finishing the story that night. I couldn't sleep.
Incidentally, I didn't post about the dog on Wednesday or Thursday because I didn't want to bump "Grand Obsession" from the top of my journal; didn't want to do anything that might reduce the chance of getting some feedback.
Pathetic, huh?
Normally Teri and Sebastian pick me up at the train station in the evening. But on Wednesday I made a mistake and thought that I was having dinner with my father and brother that night. For some reason I completely forgot that my father had called a few days earlier and told me that we needed to reschedule. Brain glitch, I guess.
Anyway, Teri had left our car at the station for me to drive home (her mother drove there with her and took her out to dinner after). I took the train home; it was earlier than I had expected (if dinner had happened), but later than normal. I found the car, hopped in, and headed home.
As I was driving, my cell phone rang.
Now, I want to emphasize that I did NOT take my eyes off the road. I reached for the phone in my jacket pocket, but was still watching the road.
And that's when a large dog, probably a golden retriever, jumped out from between two parked cars - straight in front of my car.
I slammed on the brakes, but I'd had almost no warning at all; he'd jumped out less than ten feet from me. Fortunately I wasn't going at all fast. But still, I hit him fairly hard as I came to a stop.
I don't think he went down; if he did, he was up again almost instantly. He was carrying something large, a newspaper I think, and he didn't drop it. But there was a definite "thump", and I'm pretty sure I felt the impact. But the tires didn't go over him; as far as I can tell he was simply hit by the front of my car (and when I checked it later, the car had no damage at all).
Whether he was knocked down or not, a second later he ran across the street, across a yard, and was out of sight. I saw no sign of a limp. So I started up again and drove home.
I was pretty upset, although I'd have been much more upset if I'd killed him or visibly hurt him. Teri called back, and I didn't treat her well; she told me I should call the police, and I freaked out a little.
By the time I got home I was a little numb and pretty angry. There's a leash law in that town, damn it! Dogs are supposed to be tied up.
And then I thought, "suppose that the dog's owner was just a boy, like Sebastian, who wanted his dog to run free a little?"
That made me feel bad, I can tell you!
But on top of it all I was weirded out; the similarities between what had happened and "Grand Obsession" weren't shockingly close, but they were close enough to freak me out.
And that's why I ended up staying up and finishing the story that night. I couldn't sleep.
Incidentally, I didn't post about the dog on Wednesday or Thursday because I didn't want to bump "Grand Obsession" from the top of my journal; didn't want to do anything that might reduce the chance of getting some feedback.
Pathetic, huh?