The Trauma of Things

Being a responsible citizen of the United States, I am a consumer. There are times when this is good, as when I am boosting the economy with my purchasing power. Then there is today.

I own a car. Most adults in the US own a vehicle of some sort or another and what I own is a car. A 2001 car, a car that has given me no problems. Until today.

On Friday, while coming home from exercising, I heard a stone hit the car. I looked around and saw nothing untoward. Everything seemed to be blissfully intact. I have had stones ping my car with impunity on several occasions over the years.

Historic flashback: I was visiting my niece in Arizona, land of intense heat. The temperature was in the 110s during the time I was visiting. It was hot. We were driving along and her windshield cracked. A small pop was heard and then there was a small crack in her windshield. She called the insurance company while we were still on the road. They came to her house the next day and repaired her windshield.

Today, I was in the car again for the first time since Friday’s excursion to the gym. I was going to the gym again and I noticed an odd line in my windshield. It was quite a long line on the passenger side of the car, right in line with looking for oncoming traffic if one wanted to turn left.

So I got home and called my husband, which probably wasn’t what I was really supposed to do. He told me which glass replacement company he had used for his company car, which was what I really wanted to know when I called.

So I called the insurance company, and they were very nice. They recommended the same glass company as my husband did. They even said that they had an agreement with them that allowed for direct billing. So I called the glass people and talked with a helpful person.

Since my niece and my husband had both had little chips in their glass repaired, I asked about repair rather than replacement. I thought that the rule of thumb was going to put my glass problem into a different category. It did. My crack is over five inches from end to end and it curves, making the overall length even longer.

They will come next Monday, the first day that worked for me and was open for them. They will replace my windshield while the car is inside my garage. I have zero deductible, the bill will go directly to my insurance company.

It is terrible when your stuff doesn’t stay pure. It is wonderful when so many people were so nice and did their jobs so well that it isn’t really going to harm me over much to have had this small crisis. I like when things work.