The phone rings.
I answer it.
The woman - what sounds like a soft, computer generated voice - says, "Do you have a - deer in your pool?"
My mind says, Well that's odd, but my mouth answers, "Why yes we do," in response to this survey question, because ... WE DID HAVE A DEER IN OUR POOL!
I say, "Who is this?" and my friend - we'll call her Fifi - says, "It's me - Fifi." I laugh out loud.
I explain that I found it strange - that a survey company would be calling my house - asking this odd question - but, I could have sworn when I heard her voice that it sounded so smooth - so strangely computer-like. I told her I half expected her to continue by asking, "What do you plan on doing about that?" or some other question, in a very survey-like manner.
We could not stop laughing.
Yes ... there was a deer in our pool!
Poor thing ... wandered into our yard and I guess - fell into the pool and drowned. It did have two of it's legs pretty scratched or chewed up - some coyote could have gotten to it and in trying to escape, it fell into the pool and died. We really don't know.
When my children brought the dead deer to my attention and all 5 of us were standing around the pool looking at the poor thing, my son asked, "How are you going to get it out?"
I, of course, said, "I. Am. Not. The. One. Getting. The. Deer. Out. Of. The. Pool," to my curious son. I went on to explain, "Daddy will handle it when he gets home."
My son looked surprised and looked at me and said, "Daddy?" like that would be impossible. Like he was imagining that we would call someone - the people that did this sort of thing - the people that would come to our house to get the deer out of the pool.
I laughed and said, "Yes, Daddy. It is definitely a "boy's" job."
"How will he do it?"
Walking away, back towards the house, I said, "I don't know. I guess he'll just get a rope and lasso it - pull it out. He's a Texas boy - he'll know what to do."
My son, still standing beside the pool, staring at the poor dead deer said, "I can't wait to see this."
On the upside ... He did. He lassoed it. Put it in a wheelbarrow, wheeled it across the road, took it into the woods - and dumped it. I guess that's how they handle this sort of thing - Texas boys. My son was right by his daddy's side - learning the ropes..