Carol Shenkenberger wrote to Dave Drum <=-

The Great American Outback has a troublesome, and seemingly
permanent, population of geese. And as you say - they can cause
traffic problems among the soft-headed who will give them a "brake"
as they matriculate en mass across a busy thoroughfare.

The other day I was an my way to deliver parts to one of my shops
when I came upon just such a situation. So I pulled into the other
lane and went around the knot of cars letting them waddle sloooooowly across the road. Thumpity bumpity and I was off to deliver my parts.
Some really loud old woman accosted me as I was leaving the mechanic
shop and began berating me for "killing those innocent geese". I
let her run down and then asked "Do you stop for squirrels in the
road? Or raccoons? Or possums?"

She sputtered "That's different."

Not sure why. We brake for those too here. Fact is it's a seasonal
thing and we are used to it for the geese. Most of the ducks and
geese are in local neighborhoods along the water ways. I-264 is
the only interstate that gets them too.

Our goose population seems to be permanent .... and growing. The guy
who does grounds maintenance at my credit union hates 'em. Their "poo" sometimes covers the sidewalks constituting a slip, trip or fall hazard
and a potential liability. Plus they intimidate some of the customers.

Ducks seem to be solo or in pairs (duck and drake) except for a duck
taking her ducklings out into the world. And they tend (the adults) to
fly across roads, etc.

I'll add I know of only 1 accident over that interstate issue. A driver not payng attention didt know all traffic had stopped (about 2 minutes
of his life) and rear ended a car with 3 kids in the back (2 injured
but no deaths). He was texting while driving and tried to blame the person he hit for them being silly to stop for a goose and family. He ignored that the driver had 4 stopped cars in front of her when he hit
her and she couldnt have even seen the geese.

Texting while driving a stupid, discourteous to other drivers and most importantly, ILLEGAL. I was going down a local interstate one day when
I noticed a gray car slowly gaining on me. As I scan my mirrors often
I kept track of the progress thinking their cruise control was set a
mile or two faster than mine. As the car drew alongside I saw a young (twenty-something) female steering with her knees, head down and thumbs
flying. Picked up my cell phone and talked to the state whips via blue
tooth. A trooper called me back and asked for a description of the car.
So, I described it, gave him the licence number and my mile marker. I
was told "I'll be right with you."

About 30 seconds later I saw the disco lights in my mirrors and soon an
ISP squad zoom past in "angry mode". I'm sure he explained to the driver
about the statutes concerning distracted driving and cell phone usage.

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

Title: Duckling l' Vernors
Categories: Poultry, Citrus, Booze
Yield: 4 Servings

4 lb Duckling; quartered
Salt & Pepper
24 oz Vernors Soda *
2 sl Ginger; 1/4" thick
1 c Orange Juice
1/2 c Dark brown sugar; packed
1/2 c Orange marmalade
2 tb Dijon mustard
1 tb Scallions; minced
1/4 c Brandy

MMMMM--------------------------GARNISH-------------------------------
Orange Slices

* If you can't get Vernor's, use regular ginger ale but
double the amount of fresh ginger to 4 slices, and add a
dash of vanilla to the orange juice. This will approximate
the flavour of the real thing.

Remove fat from cavity of duck; cut off extra neck skin.
Wipe quartered pieces with damp cloth, sprinkle with salt
and pepper. Place skin side down on roasting pan. Bake 50
minutes.

As duck bakes, combine Vernors and ginger slices in sauce
pan. Simmer until reduced to 1 cup. Add orange juice, brown
sugar, marmalade, mustard, scallions and 2 T brandy. Bring
to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until mix is like a thin
syrup, 20 to 25 minutes.

Remove ginger. Turn duck skin side up, drain fat, and baste
thoroughly with Vernors sauce. Return to oven; bake another
45 minutes, basting every 10 minutes.

Add remaining brandy to sauce and simmer until thickened.

Remove duck to heated plater and pour on the sauce.

Garnish with orange slices and serve.

Serves 4

From: http://www.recipesource.com

Uncle Dirty Dave's Archives

MMMMM

... If you must have motivation - think of your paycheque on Friday.

--- EzyBlueWave V3.00 01FB001F
* Origin: Tiny's BBS - Oshawa, ON, CA - http://tinysbbs.com (1:229/452)