Buck Fever

"Hello."

"Honey, I have good news and bad news.  Which one do you want to hear first?"

"The bad news."

"I wrecked the pickup."

Believing he was jerking my chain, "the pickup we just bought?  Did you get buck fever?"

"No, I didn't have buck fever!"

"Seriously, you wrecked the pickup?"

"Yes, I told you that."

"What happened?"

"I hit a tree."

"You hit the * lone tree in Jordan, Montana."

"We're not in Jordan we're in Brusett.  And you know they have trees."

"So how did you hit the tree?"

"I was backing up and if I'd been a little more to the right I would have missed it all together."

"How did you NOT see the tree?"

"I was watching this buck and I was backing up."

"So YOU DID have buck fever! So what was the good news?"

"We got our deer."

Dan had dented the left corner of the box.  The left panel had to be replaced.  The side of the box had to be replaced.  It had to be repainted.  The tailgate needed a new skin.  All total the damages came to $5000.00

About a week after Dan turned in his insurance claim they called him back and asked if they needed to replace the tree he hit.  He told him no the tree was doing fine.

Dan still contends he didn't have "Buck Fever".

• *Today there are no trees between Miles City Montana and Jordan Montana.  For years there was one lone tree.  Locals referred to the tree as "Rock Springs National Forest".  The first tree was planted and as people drove by in horse teams local legend says they would pour a cup of water on it to keep it alive.  Eventually it grew old and died.  A new on was planted and had stood many years.  I think it was in the early 1990's when they were rebuilding the road someone cut it down.  Everyone was upset.