Roadkill of the smaller kind

Well last week I was teased quite a bit when I hit a raccoon with my car.
At first most people laughed when I told them that my car was incapacitated by a raccoon.
No one could believe that such a small animal could do that much damage to a vehicle. But when the estimate came in there was $3,000+ damage to it.
It was early in the morning and I was on my way to the printing plant with the paper Tuesday. I have done this route hundreds of times if not more. I have had many a close calls with deer, but never raccoons.
I even hit a skunk one time, but never the masked marauder!
Between Stratton and Barwick there is a stretch of road that I have come to call Deer Alley. They cross there from north of the railway tracks to the south; I am sure to get a drink of water. Why this particular stretch is so busy with them is beyond me.
So when I rounded the bend and saw a bunch of glowing eyes up ahead, I wondered what I was seeing. I realized it was a bunch of small animals so I began to slow down and kept my eyes on them. They were in the other lane. As I passed them I heard a loud thud. I knew right away I had hit the mother coon. She was probably in the ditch on the other side and ran out to protect her young when she heard me coming.
She broke the bottom of my front bumper, smashed the A/C condenser into the radiator and needless to say a little while later my low coolant light was on and I knew I was in trouble.
Since then I have had ribs and jeers from lots of people. My brother asked me if I ate the road kill. So just for fun I looked up raccoon recipes on line. There are many, including Fried Coon, BBQ Coon on a bun, Stuffed Roasted Coon, Deep Fried Coon, Baked Coon with Yams and my favourite Coon Meal in a Bag!
No I did not eat the road kill and feel awful that I orphaned the babies.
–Until then,
Ken