As I noted earlier, this weekend offered a bevy of fatally flattened fauna that was quite remarkable both for the variety of species and the sheer number. I'm not sure why there were so many, unless all of the maintenance crews had been diverted to the I-20/I-59 corridor for the twin Talladega/Tuscaloosa set of weekend events, but I counted nine armadillos, four possums, a big racoon, a large bird of some sort, and then about five or six other furry things that could have been just about anything, other than giraffes. And there was one I wasn't so sure couldn't have been a giraffe.
Other item of note? People who slowly, slowly reel you in, pull out to pass you, slowly, slowly pass, then pull in front of you, and slow down. GRR. So you pull out and pass them back on the next small rise in the road, because they slow down even more, because they obviously don't have cruise control, and you pass them, and then speed WAY up so you get farrrrrr ahead of them, and then you resume your normal speed until about fifteen minutes later when they come by again, and repeat the same stupid slow dance. I cannot stand people who do that. So don't do it.
Posted by Terry Oglesby at October 3, 2005 10:44 AMYou hit my pet driving peeve. They do the same thing on the Interstate-- come barreling pass, pull in front of you and slow down. Lee gets really upset at me for getting upset at the idiots. I tell her I don't care how fast or slow they drive but don't make me change lanes to keep from hitting them.
Posted by: Larry Anderson at October 3, 2005 10:55 AMWe were on I-65 coming home when this happened to me. I hate to say it, but I smiled an evil smile several miles later when the car in question had to pull off the road due to mechanical--or mental--problems.
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at October 3, 2005 11:00 AMBack in the bad old 55 mph days, I was living in North Carolina and working in Virginia. Sunday afternoons, I drove a couple of hundred miles to where I worked. After a few weeks, you get to know where the constables of the law hang out. One Sunday, I was plaqued by a woman who would come barreling by at 80, get 1/8 mile ahead of me and slow down. I was driving about 70 and would pass her. A few miles later she would come screaming past again.
We were coming upon the hangout of an upstanding NCHP when I saw her coming up fast from behind. I sped up slightly to get closer to where the HP usually was and about a mile before we got there, I slowed down and let her by. She got nailed. I drove by at 55 and waved politely at her and her new friend.
Posted by: Larry Anderson at October 3, 2005 11:23 AMNot to change the subject or nuthin', and you may have mentioned this before and I don't remember, but I did not realize that your locale had such a plethora of armadillos.
Do people try to keep them as pets? And more importantly, have you developed a recipe for cornadillos?
Cornadillos - for that extra crunch!
Posted by: MarcV at October 3, 2005 11:28 AMYes, Marc, they've been in South Alabama for years, and have been creeping steadily northward as traffic allows. The furthest north I've seen one is in the northeastern part of our county, but I imagine they're probably further north than that. They seem to outnumber possums as roadkill by a 2:1 margin--as I've said before, either possums are getting smarter, or armadillos are getting more numerous, neither of which is a particularly promising scenario.
AS FOR CORNADILLOS, obviously we have those, with that great Mexican cornbread-flavored batter! Mmmmm--SPICY!
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at October 3, 2005 11:42 AMI finally learned this weekend the answer to the oldest question, "Why did the chicken cross the road."
He (they) were trying to catch up with their buddies who were already across. At least that's what I observed in the little town of Midway UT while sightseeing with the spouse. Traffic had to stop and wait while all the fowl got aligned in one side.
Posted by: Nate at October 3, 2005 11:52 AMI thought you were going to say, "To show the possum that it could be done."
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at October 3, 2005 11:58 AMWe've got a possum playing possum in the middle of the street next to ours. I thought it might be a good time to teach the children the word carrion.
Posted by: Jordana at October 3, 2005 09:09 PMWait--are you part of the Adams family, or the Addams family!?
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at October 4, 2005 08:36 AMI'll never tell.
Posted by: Jordana at October 4, 2005 08:44 AM