Having been raised in the "Twin Pikes," I've always thought I was a minority in that I've never been deer hunting. At least not with a gun. Being a motorist in western Illinois and northeast Missouri, I have bagged my share of whitetails with my vehicle. The latest one was this morning on the way to work.

Understand that, having made the pre-dawn trip across Scott and Pike counties for the better part of 8 1/2 years, this is the first time I've hit a deer on the way to work. And, for that, I consider myself quite blessed.

Most of my whitetail conquests over the years happened during the four years that I delivered daily newspapers on the back roads between 2 and 6 a.m. Some of the things I learned during that time:

If your choices are to take the ditch or take the deer -- take the deer.

I didn't used to know the difference between comp and collision on my car insurance -- I do now.

$500 and $250 deductibles are too high.

What I learned from this morning's encounter -- whether you believe deer whistles do any good or not, they will do you no good if they're in the glovebox. Which is where the whistles I purchased a couple of weeks ago still were.

I'm pretty sure the day's gonna get better.

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