Posted by I went for a run again this morning. It was less than a mile into my run, when a dog chased me. I thought it will stop at the edge of its owners yard, but no, it continued charging into the street up to where I am. Fear gripped me and so I stopped running and got ready for the attack. For some unknown reason, it stopped 3 feet away from me. The size of the menacing dog? It was just a little bit taller than my ankle, and about the length of my shoe!
If it had come a little closer more, I swear I would have kicked it like a football, and it will be flying back to its owner’s yard. But then, its owner might be flying out the door with a shotgun in hand and that will be the end of me.
Then after another mile down my route, I encountered deers. I spotted them about 100 feet away, and there were three of them standing at the side of the road. Deers are usually shy creatures and will scuttle away at the sight of any human being. But for some reason, these deers just stood there staring at me. As I approached closer than 50 feet, I noticed that one deer was bigger than the other 2, perhaps it was the mother. It was probably as tall as up to my chest, and was looking at me straight in the eye. I know I was not wearing red, so I don’t know why this deer was acting like a bull. Was it territorial? Or maybe it was trying to protect its family. How dare me a disturb their Mother’s Day stroll!
As I came closer to them, I raised my arms above my head and started flailing them. Finally, the deers ran into the wooded area. Whew! I just can imagine the headlines: “Man attacked by a mother deer for disturbing their Mother’s Day walk!”.
This reminds me of facing adversaries in life. It does not matter how small or how big you are compared to your adversary. The first one who invoked fear in the other, is the one who usually wins. Show no fear!
I think I’m safe, for there are no black bears in my neighborhood (or in central Iowa for that matter). But there are plenty of skunks. Yikes!
Pinoy Transplant in Iowa 