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| Goats! |
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| The "Old Green Truck" |
Back to the goat, it really couldn't avoid being hit. Luckily, I was not driving too fast when it ran into the road. The poor thing had been tied to a tree and tempted by the greener grass on the other side of the road all day. It was finally making a break for it when I happened to drive by. It had no idea that it was going to be hit by an old green truck. I squinted my eyes tightly, slammed on my breaks, and took a deep breath of anguish as I saw what was coming but couldn’t avoid it. It made a great good sound as it ran into the truck but amazingly, it drunkenly kept staggering on into the jungle bush before laying down. The owner ran out of his little house as I pulled over to the side of the road and picked up his now hurt and shaken goat. I had no idea what to do. What do you do in Thailand when you drive into a goat? I was alone, I had never hit a goat before, and I had no one to translate for me or help me navigate this new experience. The goat ran off again. I’m surprised he didn’t give up running after such a traumatic experience, but then again, some of us never learn. The owner looked a little confused and said some things in Thai. I don’t think he knew what to do either. Its not every day that a little white girl comes out of nowhere and hits your goat with a truck. Anyways, a young man was standing by and watched the whole thing. Great, witnesses. I just shrugged, lifted my hands in a "I don't know" kind of gesture towards the owner and the witness and got back in the truck. As I drove off the young witness was laughing at me from my rear view mirror. Then this morning, when I went to the local market my laughing witness spotted me, shrugged, and lifted his hands in a "I don't know" kind of gesture. It all seemed pretty worth it then, getting to connect with a stranger over a goat and an old green truck.
