Along for the ride:

Saturday, July 2, 2011

One Hit, One Miss




How hard can it be to keep a hair appointment on a Saturday morning?

Abbey and I had a lovely walk this morning, before the heat took hold of the day. Circuiting the community park, the baseball coaches were doing extra watering and dressing of the field, before the kids showed up to play. There were a few other walkers, as well as the Tai Chi Group and the "Exercise with BIG Swords" Group, on the tennis courts, complete with Chinese music coming from a tinny sounding cassette player/radio that had seen better days, but fit the age group perfectly. Some construction workers were hammering noisily away on a new project right next door to a residential nursing home, at 7 am on a weekend. I hoped, for their sakes, that the patients had less than acute hearing.
Dog duties taken care of, I still had time to drive up the canyon in search of a fresh supply of Bay leaves, to dry and then use as a seasoning. The bay trees start a little higher past the reservoir and then it's just a question of finding a safe place to pull over, not slip down the hill and avoid coming in contact with poison oak.
As I turned out of our street onto the canyon road I saw a small baby bunny off to the side of the main road. There is lushly irrigated lawn on one side, in front of a row of townhouses, and the dry scrubby hillside, interspersed with homes, rises up on the other. The temptation is obvious. I slowed to make sure bunny wouldn't panic and run the wrong way and end up under my wheels. He moved aside but didn't scoot away up the hill, as I'd hoped. 
Ten minutes later, my little car pungent with a bouquet of fresh bay leaves, I rounded the bend on the way back down to see a cluster of worried, spandex-clad cyclists who had halted their ride to see to the bunny. One man had poured some water on the ground next to the baby, but they were obviously at a loss as to what they could do next. They don't include bunny rescue pockets in the aerodynamics of those brightly colored clothes.
The cyclists were thrilled when I stopped and scooped up the little one. His nose was bloody but his limbs were all functioning. He even wriggled a bit in my hands. I thought he might have a chance after all. I gave them my card so that they could call to find out the outcome. My intention was to get him to Animal Services in the town where I was to get my hair cut. The shelter there has a wild life section.
A quick detour back to my house to equip a kitten sized pet carrier, (one I bought when I was raising Sparkles the kitten), with some dry grass for a nest and to dig out a mini baby bottle and get some water into his little mouth, which he took voluntarily. We climbed into the car and headed north. 
My rising hopes were knocked back down as he started kicking wildly in what I assumed was a seizure. He had another one and then was still. When I arrived at my destination the light had gone from bunny's eyes, although he still looked so pretty, I had to pick him up to be sure. I think bunny had a concussion or brain swelling after being hit, or just tumbled at high speed whilst crossing the road. Now I have to break the news to the cyclists when they call, as I'm certain they will. 
A few seconds after sitting in the Salon chair, there was a huge crash outside. We went out to see what had happened. A car had pulled out without seeing another one coming and the second car had been seriously crunched. The driver of the car that was hit was a young woman and the airbag, which had certainly saved her from serious harm had hit her hard, as well as burning the skin on her wrists and arms. She was in tears and trying to catch her breath. We didn't want her to move, of course, but the car was smoking and looked like it was catching on fire. 
I understand that 911 (999 in U.K.) operators can talk and type at the same time, but I really had the impression that the person who answered my call was not immediately summoning help, as she kept asking me the colors of the two cars. I reiterated the need for ambulance and fire and she got the message. The young woman got out of her car and we pulled a chair out of the salon, onto the sidewalk for her to sit down on. She had me call her boss to explain why she was late for work and the police and other services showed up very quickly after that. I grabbed my camera so that she would have pictures to show her insurance company. She didn't have to be hospitalized but I'm sure she'll be sore for a few days. Both cars were eventually towed away and the street was reopened to traffic.
By 10:30 this morning I had a nicely refreshed hair cut and color and was wondering what the heck else the day could bring.





20 comments:

  1. My goodness! That sounds like quite the morning! And it's not even a full moon! Too bad about the poor little bunny...

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  2. I am glad there are people like you on this planet.

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  3. There is a clear lesson to be learnt here. All be it a fluffy bunny or a fluffy babe, the road is no place for the female of the species in any guise.

    Let's not forget the cyclist who started the ball rolling and caused the original collision.Five would get me ten that she was too busy checking her lippy to see Bugs in the first place.

    Sexist pig? You bet I am hen.

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  4. You must have felt totally wired by mid morning ! A nice cup of tea and a sit down wouldn't quite answer any more .
    A challenging mountain walk might have been a good idea ... as long as you didn't find something else to rescue .

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  5. No matter how much we try and order our days... chaos often rules.

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  6. Is that what is meant by a full life? You have a variety of real life experiences and the day is not half over. The baby bunny at least had some tender care in his short life.

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  7. Love it! Love how you get involved. So, so cool. Good for you. xx

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  8. What a morning! When I first saw the car pictures I was afraid one was yours...thank heavens for small blessings. I am sure, too that little bunny was grateful for your kindness. That water must have tasted really good. Little furry critters are so fragile. Thank you for trying to save her/him.

    You certainly seem to know how to end of in the middle of things. Are you a magnet for adventures?

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  9. I was so hoping as I read along that neither vehicle was yours...You are an example of how much better our world can be when people help animals and each other. I hope the rest of the weekend was uneventful.

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  10. Jenny, even in death, he was adorable.

    Birdie, you mean interfering busybodies?

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  11. Jimmy, so it's the sexist pig title you're after, is it? I've yet to meet the stallion who did not learn to respect me, be he two or four legged.
    I have to admire the way you took some elements of my story, added a few of your own and mixed them all up. Was it the mention of spandex that got you all in a lather?
    You made me laugh, either way. Thanks.

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  12. S&S, not so much wired as wondering what was coming next.

    Steve, your comment made me think. I believe that I have a decent relationship with Chaos. We've nudged shoulders a time or two.

    TechnoBabe, I wasn't the only one trying to help in either situation. Those cyclists weren't going to leave the bunny. They stopped, they just hadn't worked out what to do yet. I have a lingering image of the four of them on my mental "good folks" list.

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  13. Jean, it's not quite what they mean when they say "Animal Magnetism" is it? It is relevant to your post today, if you pay attention, you will notice things.

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  14. e, you are always supportive, thank you. The weekend is not over but I have no plans for drama:)

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  15. its amazing the plethora of dead or dying animals that you see when on your bike. Most impressive for me was a deer in the middle of the road

    we tried to save a bird from the cat yesterday - on two occasions we set it free, but today it's luck ran out

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  16. Life in the big city ! Around CDG Airport there are thousands of rabbits everywhere, some of whom feel compelled to cross roads every day... their success rate is low, judging by the number of rabbit cadavres that litter the roadways.

    Glad you are ok after all that ! Good thing a car didn't come careening into the hair salon...

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  17. Pixie, that sounds like inevitable destiny to me.

    Owen, Heathrow's the same, but that's England. I'm always surprised to see wildlife in France, without a shotgun blast shortly thereafter:)

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  18. That was quite a morning. Poor bunny. Poor airbagged woman. I hope the rest of the day involved less car accidents ;-)

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  19. By 10.30 in the morning?

    You do have an adventurous life. As a one-woman-rescue-service (animal and human) all on your own I ask myself what would your town do without you?

    If you still lived here you'd have been given an honour by now.

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  20. What a day, oops, I mean morning. When I saw the pics I wondered if it was your car that got smashed but thank goodness the adventure didn't extend that far.

    Poor little bunny. You did your best.

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