DEBRIS.COMgood for a laugh, or possibly an aneurysm

We bought a new car in 1995. Shortly afterwards, a rock flew up off the road and knocked a tiny chip out of our windshield. “Man, that sucks,” I said. “I’ll have to fix that before the windshield cracks.”

Sometime in 1999, another rock flew up off the road, as rocks tend to do especially when they get driven over by all those inconsiderate meatballs who drive 3-ton, 10 m.p.g. SUVs to the grocery store, and knocked another tiny chip out of our windshield. “Man, that sucks,” I said. “Now I’ll really have to fix that before the windshield cracks.”

At four points along this timeline, my father came out to visit, pointed out the chips, and said “you should get those chips fixed before the windshield cracks.” What could I do but agree?

Last week our windshield cracked. A warm afternoon in the sunshine was enough to finally do it. In contrast, having the phone number of the windshield repair shop sit by the phone for two and a half years was not enough to get the thing fixed beforehand.

So, I called around, and learned a few surprising things. First, many windshield repairs are covered by auto insurance. This was a real treat — sure, the nature of insurance is that everyone resents it until they need it, and then they resent not having more. But to find out that I’d get a few hundred dollars’ benefit from all these years of paying premiums without having to get rear-ended by some inattentive slob (driving an SUV, say) was an unexpected benefit.

Next, I discovered the existence of on-site windshield replacement companies. I called one at 9am; by noon, a technician with a replacement windshield was in my driveway prying the old glass out of its frame, no doubt eyeing the long crack connecting the two miniature divots, thinking, if these idiots had called me two years ago, I wouldn’t have to replace whole windshield!

Total cost to me: $50 and two phone calls. Good service is always a bargain, but this felt especially cheap.