On the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave to me: A check for $5,000 made out to a Toyota dealership to cover our 2010 Corolla, which was body slammed by a deer on Christmas Eve. Yes, I freely admit that doesn’t translate well into song. The accident occurred under a starry sky in Western PA on a return trip from my in-laws’ house. It was too dark to take photos, but the damage was so incredible that it’s a testament to the vehicle’s design no one was hurt. The entire front section of the car was ripped off, and the passenger door was smashed in so it couldn’t open. The dealership where the wreckage was towed to says it will be at least another two weeks before the car is repaired. I’ve owned four Toyotas since 1994. I’ve had wonderful luck with Toyotas, but I felt boring and embarrassed for buying such a bland new car in 2010 (when Toyota was in the thick of its recalls). In a way, the car performed the utilitarian function for it was purchased: It kept us safe. So now I feel a bit vindicated for making such a bland car-buying decision. According to State Farm, PA had the fourth-highest number of deer collisions in 2011. And the very week we had our deer collision, a driver was killed when parts of a deer that was struck by another vehicle crashed through her windshield. That fatal accident occurred only a few miles away from our accident. Conventional wisdom says it’s safer to fly than drive, so maybe next year we’ll look into another mode of travel for Christmas. Then again, I don’t know what the statistics are for airplane collisions involving flying reindeer on Christmas Eve. — Patty Mahlon, director of digital media