Is it just me, or is anyone else concerned about the large number of deer on the islands? Personally, I like Bambi and her friends (my wife hates them); but there is an issue: For a while I’ve been trying to get some dents removed from my truck, by a local body shop, but he’s been really busy. Naively, I said,’Why don’t we just wait till winter, when your business slows down?’ He laughed and replied, ‘Winter is my busiest time. People drive too fast in the dark and there are deer everywhere. I’m super busy dealing with deer strikes.’ A neighbor once told me that there are two kinds of drivers on this island: people who have hit a deer and people who will hit a deer. Call me naive, but if drivers would slow down after dark, deer strikes would go down, people would save money on repairs, Bambi and friends would live to eat my wife’s flowers and I could get my dents fixed. It’s that simple.

Mike Buettell

San Juan Island