Lost Word of the Day - Varmint

varmint - pest, bothersome person or animal

As many people know, I'm married to a firefighter. Last night I stopped by the firehouse on my way home to drop off a box of ice cream sandwiches for the crew. We had a nice little visit, and then I headed home.

The drive home involved a winding mountain road. Considering where I live, that comes as no surprise. It looks kind of like this:

So you can imagine what it's like at night. There was one car ahead of me. I saw him tap his brakes and thought nothing of it. There was plenty of space between us. But then my headlights fell upon a horrible sight.

There was a raccoon lying in the road, his pelvic region crushed by the car ahead of me. I panicked, and swerved trying to miss him. There were no other cars on the road. I was sure I'd missed him...but KERFLUMP. I'd run over his poor little head.

Rest in peace, little varmint.