Startled!

This morning, as I was taking my run, I was in a small park. I began to close on two women chatting ahead of me on the trail. I worked the math, carefully figuring when to make the shout of "coming behind," so I'd neither startle them excessively, nor cause them to step off the trail for a period longer than necessary to let me pass.

Ahhhh! went the shreik of one that shattered the peace of the park, they stepped to the sides of the path. I said, "That's what I was trying to avoid." The one who shreiked responded with an apparent mix of amusement, embarassment and annoyance, "It didn't work."

Later, I followed some trails into a less used part of the park. I crested a small rise and thought I saw a deer, lying in the brush to my right. As I focused, I realized that there were two deer, the one lying down and another one standing. I stopped, looked at them, spoke calmly to them, then began a slow jog along the path that mostly encircled them. They never moved except to turn their heads to watch me.