Rant--and a Bright Spot

I hadn't planned to spend yesterday afternoon at a Smash Repair shop. In fact, I hadn't really planned the afternoon much at all. After a week of bad sleep, I was feeling slow, and relieved after a slightly better night. I'd promised to catch up with a friend late in the afternoon. Meanwhile I was feeling slow enough to stop at a local fast food "restaurant" for lunch rather than rustle something up at home. That turned out to be the bad choice of the day. The place was full of school-kids. Fair enough, it's school holidays and they need somewhere to socialise. Service was slow--also fair enough given the crowds of school kids. I never thought of a big bunch of school kids as a security issue, but when I returned to my car, I found some-one had snapped off the driver's side wing mirror. It wasn't bumped, scratched, dented or smashed. It was fully snapped off--a ring of broken metal where the mirror should have been and no mirror to be found. All of a sudden my mood deteriorated and my prejudices about my fellow restaurant patrons flared! Did I mention NOT HAPPY!

I spoke with the manager--no they don't have video surveillance in the car park. They will be installing it "soon". I spoke with the police--nothing they can do, but take a report which, "proabably isn't even worth printing". I spoke with my Insurance agency--they gave me a reference number. I spoke with the Smash Repair Shop--here's the bright spot--they said, come on up and they'd see what they could do.

Driving up the highway without a driver's side mirror was very unsettling. I was amazed at the number of times I glanced at the absent mirror and then over my shoulder to cope with the huge blind spot. I spent the next couple of hours in a tiny, dusty, brown office, while the Smash Repair guys rang wreckers and waited for parts to arrive. Meanwhile, I kept busy with my trusty drop spindle: See what I mean by dusty brown? As for tiny--that's the counter and I rested the drop spindle on my knee to take the shot. The office was "decorated" with dozens of certificates, interspersed with old football posters. Attractive--NOT.

The first mirror to arrive was white, mine was black. They tried again. The black one arrived. They installed it. I handed over $100 and grateful thanks. There wasn't much left of the afternoon. Would you believe I took a friend to a fast food "resaurant" for tea? I did have second thoughts, but I'd had enough of the day by then. The place was quiet. My car remained undamaged. We had an hour or so to catch up and then I went home. I don't have any plans for this afternoon, but one thing is for sure: no matter how slow and unmotivated I feel, I will not be dropping in for a quick lunch at that fast food place.