Look Out for Falling Rats While Driving...

Twice now ... count 'em ... TWICE now, I have had my car hit by a rat falling out of the sky! It's unbelievable. The first time happened several years ago. It totally blew me away that I would have my car in the exact right place, at the exact right time. But now, that it has happened again, it's beyond believability. Both times, I was driving along the interstate between Weyers Cave and Harrisonburg. Both times I was moving about 65 miles per hour. Both times, I clearly saw the hawk or falcon in the distance ahead of me, diving down out of the sky onto the grass of the brushy median. Both times, the hawk easily caught whatever it was that he or she was after for dinner. And both times, the big bird lifted off to take its meal home, just moments before my car arrived even with it. Both times, the bird was right over my car about 25 feet up when it lost its grip on its prize. The first time, I could see the rat struggling in the hawk's talons, as the bird fought to keep its grip and fly at the same time. The rat wrestled itself loose, not thinking about the consequences of its actions. Although escaping the hawk and momentarily regaining its freedom, the falling rodent struck the hood of my car, up near the front bumper before bouncing up, ricocheting off the side mirror and careening off onto the road shoulder. Today, the rat didn't seem to be struggling. (It had a long really-skinny tail, so I presume it was a rat again.) But I saw the big bird lose its grip anyway, just before my car went under it. I heard the falling varmint hit the roof of the car, right over the back seat, and in my rearview mirror I saw him bounce off and fall onto the roadway, to be flattened paper-thin by the truck behind me. When I got where I was going, there was a little mark in the dust on the roof of the car just behind the ham radio antenna. But no dent or anything. The traffic was so heavy, I doubt the bird could retrieve its hard-earned rat-pancake without risking its life. The bird's probably thinking, 'oh well, you win a few, you lose a few'. Two times now. Wow. Maybe I should call Ripley's... Then again, there are lots and lots of hawks and falcons, flying around, sitting on fence posts, perching on tree limbs, all up and down I-81. Maybe getting hit by a falling rat is not as rare as I think. Of course, I've still hit a lot more deer than rats, --- but the count is rising...