When I got back from the cities on Saturday Nov. 22, I was just happy to be alive. The snow had made the roads crappy, and I realized I had started developing a cold. Snuggling in my bed was one of my top priorities.
The next day, however, my priorities took a jarring switch. Some friends and I were going to Wal-Mart for provisions. When I approached my car, I immediately checked the license plate, hoping I had accidently walked up to the wrong car.
Nope, that was definitely my car with the missing driver’s side mirror. A few colorful words escaped my mouth as I looked at the wires dangling from my door. I had done a mental time frame. I used my car that Thursday night and everything was where it was suppose to be. This happened anywhere from early Friday morning to late Saturday night.
My eye caught something bulging in the snow not even three feet in front of my car. It was my detached mirror. As I retrieved my mirror, I was surprised to find how intact it was. The plastic outer shell wasn’t cracked or chipped, suggesting a car hit. That’s when I took a closer look at the three wires protruding from my car. One wire was frayed, while the other two were cleanly cut.
This wasn’t an act by a lousy driver; it was a deliberate act by a lousy, probably drunk, person. In the words of my insurance company, “car vandalism.”
I took a picture of my car for the insurance company and anyone who needed to see what it looked like. I got some electrical tape and taped off the live wires and eventually used duct tape to seal off the hole in my door to keep out the snow. Then I called Public Safety.
Public Safety was there in no time. They looked at my car, took my information, and asked if I wanted to make a statement. At that time I was bitter at whoever harmed my “baby” of a car, so I agreed to make a statement and do the necessary paperwork that comes with that. Turns out, however, that talking to Public Safety does nothing for the report my insurance company would need, so I soon called the local Marshall police.
The officer who came and looked at my car was nice and understanding of my situation. Apparently there were several cases of on campus vandalisms this year and that the parking lots really should have security cameras to help prevent vandalism. The officer also recently had his car come out of the shop, so he was particularly sympathetic.
Next came with dealing my insurance company. To anyone who has had to deal with his or her insurance company, I’m sorry. It’s a pain, and in my experience, a lot of “please wait while we send you to this department.” Of course, my policy didn’t cover vandalism. Not that I was surprised, but it meant the fixes where all going to have to come out of pocket.
I finally got my mirror fixed during Thanksgiving Break thanks to my dad, but the entire ordeal put a stressing start on finals.
