Sad Afternoon

I was doing dishes today, and I heard a car go by and then a loud thump. Cars go by my house too fast much too often, and I thought someone had just hit the dip going too fast. A few minutes later I hear a woman cry out. At first I couldn't tell if it was laughter or crying, but after a few seconds it was clear that it was more of a wailing. Regardless of where in my house you were, you could hear this woman's agony.

I went outside to see if someone was hurt, and then I saw it - a bright white furry body laying dead in the middle of the street. It was my neighbor's dog. The thump was the dog being hit.

At this point half the neighborhood has come out of their houses to see what happened. I was actually having a hard time holding back some tears. I usually get sad when I see animals on the road that have clearly been hit by a car, but the sound of the woman crying made it heartbreaking.

Lucas was weaving himself between my legs, trolling for attention, and I thought about how aweful it would be if he ran out into the street and were hit by a car. And of how fast people drive around my neighborhood (another of my neighbors likes to have his friends over so they can all race their motorcycles around the block; it's very loud and obnoxious), and thinking to myself that they really should put in some speed bumps or something.