Public Service Announcement: Please be alert while driving this particular time of year.  You may be sober and undistracted, but a lot of folks around you are not.

Just last night, we were at home when we heard a loud crash outside, then several police/emergency vehicles blocked our road all evening.  Not the kind of flashy holiday lights you want to see.  I haven’t ascertained the details, but it had to have been a bad accident, the kind that kills.  Even the two cats suddenly showed up wide-eyed in a panic, very unlike them, and literally flung themselves at our front door to get in.  Something had spooked them, as well as every dog in the neighborhood.

Normally, people do speed up and down our road without looking; it’s risky just getting our mail.  But this time of year, everyone seems to get a little more frenzied and unpredictable.  You have to drive more defensively just to get home safely.  Which we did yesterday, after some errands and this nice Smoky Mt. Brewery Black Bear Ale (with E as DD as usual).  It could have been us out there, last night.

Misu was apparently so unnerved that she dug herself into her bed and didn’t even jump up like her usual alarm clock self to get fed this morning.  She reluctantly had a bite, then ran back to bed all morning.  Very unlike her.  Much later, she finally ambled outside, looking both ways.

We intentionally keep our holidays low-key (and by necessity low-cost), so we venture out even less than usual.  You could say it’s festive all year, because we’re suckers for clearance light strings of all colors!  Here is our blue room.  That’s about our speed.  Simpler and cheaper that way.

Please slow down and think.  There may be children’s (and animals’) lives depending on you.  Or your own.  Thanks.