Cows Are Loose

And addendum to yesterday's post about love. The "Love you." can also sound like slang. "Love you, bye!" was originally, "I love you, bye!", but the 'I' is slurred until it goes from "I love you." to "Love you." to "Love ya.". Each digression loses more of the original meaning. "Love ya." holds only a fraction of the meaning of what it used to be. When you whisper "I love you." into your lover's ear, you wouldn't even think about saying "Love ya." because it hardly holds the meaning that you are trying to convey. But "Love ya." originally was "I love you."

Back on topic...

Yesterday, early in the morning a tractor trailer carrying 39 cows was barreling down Interstate 74, the conditions were less than optimal. A dense fog had a choke hold on the area surrounding the Harrison township. The fog is always densest around Mt. Plateau-74, the highest part of the interstate in the area. The tractor trailer was heading near Mt. Plateau-74 cuttin through the fog, like a bullet cuts through jello. There is a reason why trucks drive slower, because their ungainly cargo inhibits maneuverability. Compared to boats, a car is like a speed boat as a tractor trailer is like a cruise liner. If this tractor trailer had been equipped with a radar, he would have seen an ominous dot ahead of him. This dot was the beginning of the tractor trailer's demise, a slow moving car. Without radar, the tractor trailer did not see the car until it was right in front of him. With less than lightning quick reflexes the truck driver swerved to avoid the slow car.

Obeying the laws of physics the trailer behind the truck could not compensate for the sudden movement; the truck went one way the trailer, a different direction. Losing control the tractor trailer tipped over, sliding across the pavement and freeing the cows inside. Half the cows got loose, frightened and dumb, they scattered to the four winds.

A truck driver carrying cattle, is by law, made to carry a rope with him in case some cattle get loose. One rope does not do the poor driver justice, especially since 20 cattle were loose. He needed a tranquilizer gun. But without immediate aid, and due to the dense fog, the cattle roamed the area.

Law enforcement closed both directions of the interstate and got a team of volunteers and police together to attempt to wrangle the cattle. The task was harder than it appeared, with the fog, visibility was reduced to less than 100 feet, and in the woods, finding the cattle was a very trying task. A few pictures below show what happened. The interstate was closed for almost 12 hours.


The tractor trailer overturned.


Dense fog.


The wreckage.


Cattle round-up.


Roam free! Head for the border!


Can't catch me! Moo!

There were some cattle casualties, the most interesting was the cow found dead in the front lawn of Harrison yard. Unfortunately the police found the carcass before the residents of the house could recover their dinner.