When Deer Seek Asylum

James L. Davis

I was awakened in the middle of the night.

“Stay down. They might be watching.”

“What’s wrong?” I asked, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

“They’re trying to kill me.”

I’m not used to being awakened in the middle of the night, except by my wife’s dog, who will on occasion yawn to tell me she wants to go outside. Not that she needs to go outside, she just wants to go out in the middle of the night to have a look around.

Not used to being awakened by a strange voice in the middle of the night, I asked the obvious: “Who are ‘They’?”

“I don’t know,” my late-night intruder responded. “But there’s thousands of them, all dressed in orange.”

I reached out and turned on the night stand light and my wife mumbled incoherently and threw the blankets over her head. I wished she hadn’t because I wasn’t quite prepared to deal with what was in our bedroom. There was a deer standing at the end of our bed, looking rather distressed.

“You’re a deer,” I said, stating the obvious.

“I’m a Buck,” my intruder informed me.

“Well, why are you in my bedroom?” I asked.

“Because they’re trying to kill me!” The deer went to my wife’s drawing table and sat down on her studio chair, shaking his head. “I don’t know who they are. I don’t know what I’ve done. But they’re out to kill me.”

I tried again to rub the sleep from my eyes. “Well, you’re a deer.”

“The dog said you were quick.”

“You talk to the dog?”

“Sometimes she comes out at night and we chat.”

“That explains a lot. What I meant was you are a deer and it is Deer Season.”

“Meaning?” The deer began to twirl around on my wife’s studio chair.

“Meaning that the people in orange are hunters and they’re trying to kill you for a reason.”

“What reason? I don’t even know who they are.”

“Well, either to eat you or to cut your head off and put it on their wall.”

The buck stopped spinning. “You’re kidding, right?

“Afraid not,” I said.

“Are you a hunter?” The deer was poised forward on the chair, either ready to take flight down the hallway or dance a jig on our bed, I wasn’t sure which.

“Nope.” I said. “I don’t care for the taste of deer meat.”

“So now you’re saying I taste bad.”

“I didn’t say you tasted bad. I didn’t realize deer were so hostile.”

“Hostile!” The deer raised his voice, making my wife mumble and bury herself deeper within the covers. “Let me tell you about hostile. I’m getting ready for the rut, feeling pretty good about myself, wanting to strut around a little, and then all of a sudden BAM! People I don’t even know are shooting at me. Wouldn’t you be hostile?”

“Suppose so. But could you keep it down, you’ll wake my wife and the kids.”

“I’m a deer.” The deer jumped off my wife’s studio chair and pranced to my side of the bed “They won’t understand me.”

“I do,” I said.

“Yes. But you’re not normal.”

“So I’ve been told. What do you want from me anyway?”

“Sanctuary.”

“Sorry, all my neighbors are hunters and I don’t want them storming through the house looking for you. You can take my orange hat and vest if you want, maybe they’ll think you’re a hunter yourself.”

“Fat chance. I’ve got a rack to die for.”

“Interesting choice of words,” I said. “Why’d you come to me in the first place?”

“Your dog said you might be able to help me.”

“I’ve got to do something about that little dog.”

The deer was pacing now and I could see he was becoming quite agitated again. “You’re not going to remember any of this when you wake up, are you?”

“I sincerely hope not,” I said.

The buck turned and bounced out of my room, down the hall and out the door and I was able to get back to sleep.

The next morning I was quite convinced that I either needed to cut back on my caffeine intake or go immediately into therapy. But then I noticed that my safety hat and vest were missing. There were deer droppings on my welcome mat as well and to top it off what I had always thought was a yawn from my wife’s dog now seemed suspiciously like a laugh.

A Village to Raise a Child

Cardell Sackett

I heard the phrase the other day again, “It takes a village to raise a child.” I have heard this phrase several times. When I first heard it, I felt there was a fairly strong argument for its purpose. Now after this has been around many years, and we are forever changing at a pace so quickly now that the structure and culture of our societies are not the same as they were even a couple of years ago.

I heard a doctor who is an OBGYN speak on changes he has noticed over the years. I am sure if you pay much attention to news it is not so shocking that the rate of pregnancy in unwed women and particularly teenage pregnancy has more than doubled in the past five years.

He informed me that he was about to deliver a baby from a 15 year old girl. Also according to news studies, there are more grandparents raising their own grandchildren than ever before. There has been a huge increase in single parent homes with most cases, no father or very little father involvement. Now please don’t think there is any intention in this article to pass judgment on a single parent or any chastisements for those women who find themselves in this position. In fact, I know of many who are single and doing a wonderful job with their children. I am a product of a broken home and I know what it is like to depend on a single parent to help to meet the needs. It is extremely hard. I looked into those that I am familiar with, and noticed a central theme in the raising of strong, educated children. Ideally, a home with a mother and father is the best option for success in child rearing.

There are some specific things that also contribute greatly to successful families. Just a few can be mentioned here. There is truth in the statement that “a family that prays together, stays together.” Going to worship as a family on a regular basis helps strengthen the values parents are trying to teach. One of the most important things is to spend quality time with your children. This is individual, as well as together. Soft voices are a must in a home. “A quiet voice can turn away wrath.” I was in a home and the father wasn’t aware of my presence. We were checking the electrical box and when the power went off, so did the father. He screamed and swore so violently I was almost afraid for us.

Also, do you have dinner together on a regular basis as a family? I know how difficult this can be. But I know we can accomplish anything we put our minds to. I don’t think any of this is new to us and I could continue an article on each individual item I have mentioned, but let me just conclude with this thought; It takes a community to assist parents to raise their children! We are doing it backwards. The community and schools and churches are there to supplement and assist the parents on the work being done in the home. We must do our jobs first.

Consider this. (Cardell Sackett is a realtor with Bridge Realty.)