Iowa, Deer, and Respect for Nature

 

I love this story because it really reminds me of what I love about living in Iowa.  A deer strolls into a supermarket this week.  That could happen anywhere.  Some take it as a sign of overpopulation of deer, and they might have a point, but I think there are plenty of deer out there in urban landscapes that could have accidentally wandered into a supermarket.  The fruit section is placed so close to the door, what deer could resist that temptation?  And after the deer had survived the slalom course that defines most moderate size supermarket parking lots, much of the peril was behind him.  That is not the part that I find amusingly, reassuringly, and wonderfully Iowan.

The few people in the store moved aside to let the deer pass through.  Even though we are an open carry weapon state, no firearms were either brandished or discharged.  Instead, the deer made it's way through the store to a stock room and into the back of a delivery truck.  This is the part I love.  The delivery truck driver closed up his truck, drove to a nearby park, and let the deer out.  I am sure the deer had had better days, but it really couldn't have gone better than that after he crossed the threshold into the exclusively human territory of a supermarket.