Yesterday I was driving to Jack in the Box for lunch, when I spied at the lower right-hand of my vision, about 20 feet away, a little greyish squirrel bounding across a lawn, then the street 10 feet in front of me.

I pressed hard on my brakes, but the little critter cleared my car by about 1/2 a foot. Yet, when I looked down to the left of my car, about 5 feet in front of me, I saw something very fucking strange. The squirrel was still scampering across the remaining 3/4ths of the road; my mind saw a squirrel, but my eyes did not fully comprehend what they were seeing. It was so strange that I became transfixed totally in the moment, the full second of it, trying to come to grasp with what I was seeing...I *know* with every fiber of my being that it was a little grey squirrel on one side and then a blur and then, a split-second later, a slithering black nake, and a split-second further, I saw this "thing" transform into a black-greyish 1 1/2 inch thick, 4 foot long sash/ribbon.

Two split-seconds was all the observation I could afford, however. At the moment I saw the ribbon flutter onto a driveway, I turned from my side window and immediately noticed two things: a) I was almost completely on the other side of the road, b) there was a brownish minivan careening toward me, about 20 feet away, 40 mph, and not honking. I took evasive action, tires squeeling, and made it back over to the other side, just as the other car (obviously not paying attention to any thing), barely honking as we passed, a split-second later.

The funny thing is, I definitely have no recollection of ever seeing that car before, even tho I had been staring down the street maybe 2 or three seconds before. And I remember the guy's startled face when he finally saw me. It's like he just appeared out of no where right in front of me, but that can't be possible!

I immediately looked back did a u turn and went back to investigate this "ribbon". However, even though i stopped at the place I had seen it, clearly, the ribbon was no longer stuck to the bush at the corner of the driveway. Even though I looked and looked all over two lawns I could not find it. Less than 30 seconds since the near-miss had elapsed.

As I was greatly perplexed and heading to the car, I heard a scampering sound less than 5 feet away. Up in the nearest tree, at eye level, was a little grey squirrel, staring at me; the same little eyes I had stared at on the other side of the road a minute ago.

The Matrix glitched. It saved the squirrel's life, because I have no doubt the speeding van would have plowed right over it had I not subconsciously intervened. I hold myself to blame :-)