Wilco and the deer

Two things happend last Thursday that have had an impact in my life. I saw Wilco live for the first time at the Pikes Peak Center down in Colorado Springs. And then I hit a deer driving home from the show. Since that night, I've listened to every Wilco album two or three times, and I've been driving with a light foot, constantly searching for fearless wildlife looking to play chicken with my car.

The show was absolutely amazing though. By far the best I've seen. I was hesitant to go at first because I couldn't find anyone to go with, and it's a two hour drive to the Springs, and since I waited to the last minute to buy a ticket, I got a seat way up in the balcony. But when Wilco took the stage and Jeff Tweedy started to sing, all these small trifles were immediately forgotten. They played nearly all the songs I was hoping to hear. My seat was far from the stage but I had a clear view non the less, and the instruments they played and the acoustics in the theater provided superior sound. Despite being seated alone between two boring couples, I had a very fun time.

I left the show in high spirits. I stopped at a Conoco just out of town to fill up, as gas was thirty cents/gallon cheaper than back home. I left the fill up station, rocking out to Wilco. Ten minutes later I slammed on the brakes, causing the ABS to roar like a lion. My CDs in the back seat, my Coke, the ice scraper, everything in the car flew forward and hit the dash. I clenched my teeth, held my breath, and watched with no small amount of terror as my car slammed into a deer. Thankfully I wasn't going that fast when I hit the poor thing. I pulled over and got out of the car, but the deer was nowhere to be found. So the deer managed to get itself off the road, and there was little damage to the car. The real damage was to my nerves. I was so scared of hitting another animal, I drove 20 mph under the speed limit the rest of the way home.

That night I had a series of disturbing dreams involving me dying by hitting a deer while listening to really good music.

Anyway, it was a very eventful and exciting evening. Although, next time Wilco comes to town, I'm taking the train!