Deer Sign
When whitetail deer get spooked, they run.
Because when you’re a deer, options are zero.
No fight or flight.
Just. Flight.
And their tails go up to let other deer know.
It’s called “flagging”.
Helps their young to keep track of them, too.
Thing is, deer get spooked by a lot.
Even the deer that live around here.
They’re basically tame.
No predators, no hunting.
They do cull the herd periodically using nets.
NextDoor goes off on that.
My favorite post compared it to the Holocaust.
When I’m anxious, I go full white tail.
Just ready to bolt.
Raise the flag, I’m done.
Except I’ve got options.
Before I run, ask myself what I’m running from.
Sometimes I still need to go.
Mostly, though, it’s just the brain, firing off in all direction because it doesn’t know how to process some emotion that got too big for it to handle.
Dan Has Notes is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
This is part of The 100, 100 posts in 100 days.