Deer-Vehicle Collisions

My car stopped inches away from hitting a large deer this afternoon. I was taking a back road by the lake to avoid the holiday traffic.   A deer jumped over the railing to cross the road.  I slammed on my brakes hoping the truck travelling behind me would see the deer too.   The deer ran across the road in a scattered manner.  When my car was stopped, I noticed several more deer running away from the road.  It was mid-afternoon on a cloudy day.

Most of the roads I travel are marked with deer crossing signs.  Seeing deer crossing the road at night is a common occurrence.  The deer usually are moving at dawn and dusk.   I was surprised to see deer in the middle of the afternoon. 

According to data from State Farm, the likelihood of a licenced driver hitting a deer in Pennsylvania is 1 in 86.  State Farm offers tips in avoiding Deer-Vehicle collisions.

Here are tips on how to reduce the odds of a deer-vehicle collision involving your vehicle becoming part of the story we tell next year:

          Be aware of posted deer crossing signs. These are placed in active deer
          crossing areas.

Remember that deer are most active between 6 and 9 p.m.

Use high beam headlamps as much as possible at night to illuminate the areas from which deer will enter roadways.

Keep in mind that deer generally travel in herds – if you see one, there is a strong possibility others are nearby.

         Do not rely on car-mounted deer whistles.

If a deer collision seems inevitable, attempting to swerve out of the way could cause you to lose control of your vehicle or place you in the path of an oncoming vehicle.

Be Safe!



How To Be A Good Customer

I am tired and grumpy.  The "busy" season at work is soon over. I work for a company in the Christmas business.   We distribute seasonal merchandise.   Each year, I hire and train seasonal customer service representatives to work seven weeks in a demanding call center environment.

Overall, we have great customers. It is nice seeing our regular customers who stop in for their order. I am sad when I hear an "old timer" in the business has died.  This year, a few of the customers have been especially challenging.  In an effort to put this season behind me, I present suggestions on How To Be A Good Customer.

1.  "What do you mean?!!!"  is not an appropriate response when told an item is out of stock.

2.  Please refrain from using "Gimme".  Gimme a case of stands  Gimme a box of rings.

3.  It is really difficult to hear if you are on speaker phone.

4.  Please do not call in with an order and put us on hold to answer your other line.

5.  Please have your order ready.  Going through the 30 page catalog...one page at a time should be done before you call.

6.  Please do not swear at us when we tell you there are no parts available for an obsolete machine.

7.  Know who you are.  The database has over 10,000 customers....many with the name evergreen somewhere in the title.  The call will be much smoother if you know your customer number or at least the name your account was set up in.

8. Freight charges are an expensive part of doing business.

9.  If our published pick up hours begin at 8:30, please do not arrive early to get a "jump on your day".

10.  Do not ask us to leave your order outside for you to pickup after hours.  We cannot.

In other news, I should resume regular posting in a week.  Thank you to the readers and followers of this blog for bearing with the lapse in posting. 

10 Things I Learned from a Day Without Electricity

Hurricane Irene spent some time in Pennsylvania this past weekend.   We are 60 miles West of Philadelphia and the estimated rainfall was 3 inches.  We lost power on Sunday at 2:00 am until 7:00 pm.  The power returned as I was loading coolers full of food to transport to my parents freezer 20 miles away.

10 Things I Learned from a Day Without Electricity

1.  It takes 2 gallons of water to flush a toilet. 
2.  Even though I knew the electricity was off...I kept automatically trying to turn lights and faucets on.
3.  The first floor of the house is much darker than the second floor.
4.  It is important to have a land line phone in addition to portable phones.
5.  I missed the instant access to news and information from the TV and Internet.
6.  However, I got a lot of work done around the house without the distraction of the TV and Internet.
7.  I need to purchase a battery operated radio.
8.  Peanut Butter sandwiches are yummy.
9.  Kids can occupy themselves for several hours without being "plugged in".  My daughter worked on a few crafts, completed her summer reading project and math worksheets.
10. It is easy to take things for granted.  I am very thankful the electricity is back on!

Sending well wishes to all those who were in Hurricane Irene's path...

Do You Advertise?

On my way to work this morning, I was sitting in traffic at a congested intersection. If you are familiar with the road conditions in PA, you know sitting in traffic at a construction zone is a daily occurrence. A common joke among long distance truck drivers…There are two seasons in Pennsylvania….Winter and Construction.

I glanced at the license plate of the car in front of me. The first three digits were the abbreviation of a martial arts organization. The remaining digits were 7DAN. I understood the meaning of the vanity plate but am fairly certain people unfamiliar with karate/martial arts would not extract the message.

Before anyone gets angry, let me stop right here. I am not opposed to the license plate. People can have whatever license plate they want. However, the license plate got me thinking about my own circumstances. I wondered if I advertise that I am a karate practitioner.

If I answer honestly, my answer has to be “Yes”. My karate training is personal but I also have a responsibility to the dojo.

I have more karate t-shirts than I can count acquired over the years at seminars and tournaments. I can think of at least one jacket and several gear bags. I have t-shirts advertising our dojo, business cards and a karate blog.

I don’t often wear karate t-shirts unless I am attending a karate event. I remember going to Hershey Park with Tom several years ago. He was wearing a dojo t-shirt. A young man, who was working at the park, stopped Tom and asked him if he took karate lessons. As soon as Tom told the man he owned the school, the conversation ended and the worker went on his way. It was an odd exchange and I always wondered why the man asked the question. At the time, it felt like the worker was looking to cause trouble.

Thoughts?

Observations From a Rural Route Delivery Person

I may have mentioned previously on this blog that I work part-time as a rural route delivery person.  I work one night a week delivering newspapers on a driving route.   After my daughter was born, I quit my full time job to stay home with her.  I was used to working and I wanted to have spending money of my own.  A rural route delivery position was perfect for my schedule. Many rural newspaper carriers are mothers or retired people.  I returned to full-time employment when my daughter entered first grade.  I kept my part-time position.

Newspaper carriers usually deliver between 3:00 A.M. and 5:00 A.M.  Here are some of my observations and experiences:

1.  There are a lot of police officers patrolling at night.  I know exactly where they set up to monitor speeding motorists.  The police officers know my car and the reason I am in the neighborhood.  One police officer stopped me to inform me of a crime spree in the neighborhood.  He asked me to keep my eye out and report any suspicious activity.

2.  Homeowners should check their garage door before they go to bed.  I see at least one open garage door with the lights on each shift. 

3.  Parents...Do you know where your kids are?  During the summer months, I am surprised by the number of young teens walking around at 3:00 A.M.

4.  A note to the guys standing in their open garage "smoking"...you can smell the smoke two blocks away.  If your neighbors are awake, they will know you are not smoking cigarettes.

5.  People like to sit on their porch in the middle of the night. 

6.  A teenage boy (16-18) sat alone on his porch in the dark.  He was always there...sitting...waiting.  I knew the address of the house because they were one of my customers.  One day, I heard on the news that a boy from the same address committed suicide by walking in front of a tractor trailer.

7.  Sometimes the neighborhood watch thinks I am the suspicious character.  I was followed by a red truck until the person realized I was delivering the paper.

8.  Motion lights never fail to startle me.  I know which houses have the lights yet I still jump when they turn on.

9.  Every once in a while, I get a prickly feeling at the back of my neck.  Once, I looked in my rear view mirror to see a figure about a hundred yards behind me.  The figure stood there watching me.  I quickly went on my way.

10. There is a lot of train activity at 3:00 A.M.  I hate to get stopped at a crossroads and have to wait for a 200 car train to pass.  I feel vulnerable and make sure my car doors are locked.