Every Now And Then A Cow Must Fall

I've been told that fast food isn't good for your health, but what happened last Monday was a bit over the top.

I was driving home from an appointment with my son in the back seat.

I had to get back to the day care, where I would drop my son off and I would go on to run the many errands I had scheduled for my only day off.

The weather was sunny and cool and driving conditions were good. Even though I was pressed for time, I decided to drive a little slower than usual and enjoy the scenery.

"Mom, I'm hungry," said my son.

As I opened my mouth to reply, my train of thought was interrupted by a bizarre sight.

A truck pulling a very large trailer full of cattle had pulled out in front of me onto the highway and something was falling off of the trailer.

It was a cow. Right in front of my car.

But that wasn't the end of it, because right after one cow fell, another cow fell out on top of it, then a third.

The thing about cows, apparently, is that they don't bounce. They just sort of plop down. I guess this was fortunate, because they didn't hit my car.

In fact, the cows just got up and walked away.

Apparently, the driver didn't notice his cows were falling, and he kept chugging down the road, with his cows falling out the back like dominoes. Plop, boom, plop.

"Mom! I don't think those cows are wearing seat belts!" yelled my son.

In all, about seven cows had fallen out on Highway 231.

It's funny how God sends us the same messages over and over in different ways, to keep us from forgetting.

So, what did I learn from watching seven cows fall out of a moving trailer in front of my vehicle on a major highway, besides that cows don't bounce?

Well, for one, I'm glad I wasn't speeding. If I had been, the hamburger on the highway might have been me. Death by livestock is just not the way I want to go out of this world.

(See, I can joke about it because I'm still alive and so are the cows, as far as I know.)

The impromptu cow parade also taught me this:

You can be a great driver. Everyone around you could be a great driver. But then comes a cow, or seven cows.

Or, you could be sitting in the back of a trailer and, boom, all of a sudden you're lying on your side on a major highway with horns beeping at you.

You can't plan your life, no matter how hard you try. Every now and then, a cow will fall or you will be the falling cow.

But, there is a way to be prepared for the unexpected: Slow down. Strive to do what is right, not just what's convenient.

Maybe, if you're not speeding through life, you'll be able to avoid a major crash.

And if you can't avoid the crash, at least you've given yourself some time to enjoy the drive.