By Dave Andrusko
Over a cup of coffee this morning with my bride, we shared some last minute details about NRLC’s upcoming June 28-29 conference which I hope you are able to attend. You can register here.
I take I-95 into the office, which is one of the most congested highways in America. That’s why motorists pay an arm and a leg to use the HOV (High-Occupancy Vehicle] lane. Inside the beltway, it becomes 395 which is even worse!
As I approached the freeway, I noticed that traffic was backed up in the express lane. I drove for seven miles alongside the HOV, and it was still backed up!
Before I even walked in the door, I texted Lisa to apprise her of the situation. She texted back “Geese on the express lane. Pretty funny traffic reports…. Now the geese are on South 395. It’s a fowl situation.”
When I reached my office, I opened up my laptop and looked up the video of the family of geese. “The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) posted video from one of its traffic cameras on the X platform, showing a number of Canada geese in the northbound express lanes of the interstate in the Fairfax County area,” DC News reported.
What’s the holdup on I-395 NB express lanes you ask? Just some SSP and VSP heroes saving some geese 🥰 #VaTraffic #DMVTraffic pic.twitter.com/MQicj0wB6V
— VDOT Northern VA (@VaDOTNOVA) June 11, 2024
The post began by asking: “What’s the holdup on I-395 NB express lanes you ask?” The answer: “Just some SSP and VSP heroes saving some geese.” [SSP stands for Safety Service Patrol, “a team of people who respond whenever there’s trouble or an emergency on the interstates in Virginia.” VSP is an acronym for Virginia State Police.]
VDOT workers used trucks to keep the geese safe while escorting them off the interstate.
Puns were everywhere: “The incident caused drivers to slow down, stop, and have a gander.” Ouch.
You’re probably asking yourself what does this have to do with NRLC’s mission? Watch the video and witness the tenderness and patience on everyone’s part.
It’s just a mom and her gaggle of goslings, treated with caution and respect. I don’t want to idealize the drivers but who would be so cold-hearted as to casually run them over?
I think—actually I believe this passionately—that there is deep vein of compassion that runs through Americans. There is a sympathy for the helpless that is embedded in our very DNA.
That’s why I have so many times written that abortion is an aberration, fundamentally at odds with the promise of America—that everyone is human, everyone is important, everyone deserves to be protected.