Mark took a jaunt over to Louisiana to get a couple of sacks of oysters to open for the Thanksgiving meal on the river towboat where he works. Our brother-in-law rode with him so he could get a couple of sacks for his family. It is good to have a "co-pilot" on trips...even short ones. This took all of about three hours over then three back. Just a nice ride with the promise of fresh oysters. But, as with any venture, there can be setbacks and unexpected pitfalls along the way. It was no different with this short trip.
It seems that along the highway over to Louisiana, they saw a flock of vultures in the distance. This is not unusual as the birds are nature's garbage disposals and any roadkill is fair game for them...albeit, a tricky game for them to get their prey. Speeding vehicles can sometimes create more roadkill out of the predators eating the previous unfortunate animal that died. You guessed it. Mark hit a buzzard. Well, more correct, a buzzard hit Mark's truck. It seems that as they neared the flock, all flew up except one. It flew up but then decided to fly back down before Mark had passed the roadkill. Bam! The buzzard hit the hood of his truck! There is a huge dent right in the middle of the hood!
If you have never seen a vulture/buzzard up close and personal, they are rather huge creatures. We have what are called Turkey Vultures (locals call them buzzards). They have about a seventy inch wingspan, are about the size of a large goose and weigh anywhere around five pounds and upwards. Imagine a five pound bag of sugar smacking your truck hood while you are traveling about 70mph. It is not a pretty sight. Thankfully, the impact was contained on the truck's hood and the bird did not hit the windshield. Mark and Larry came through the incident ok....sadly, the bird did not. So...a new concern for travelers....Be wary of falling buzzards!
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