The Note on the Volvo

Taped to the window of my Volvo, this note was wet from the rain by the time I read it. Had I found it on my own, I doubt if I would have even known what it meant.

Margarete knocked on my door a little earlier, and so upset, in her strong German accent chattered on and on about a lot of traffic going by on the street. It sounded like she said something about a school bus, and then that she had hit my car. She continued, saying something about fixing it with strips of plastic that have glue on them. I didn't understand so invited her in. Sitting next to her on the couch, I asked her to please start over with what she was trying to tell me as I secretely wished she spoke English just a little better. Turns out, she had cut the corner to the driveway a little too short and had hit my car with hers, shattering the fog light and turn signal lense cover on the driver's side of my car. It wasn't until we walked out to my car so I could see first hand what she was talking about that I was able to figure out that what she translates from German to English and calls strips of plastic with glue is what the rest of us call Scotch tape.

No serious damage was done - just the lense cover that she had tried her best to repair and a corner of the chrome portion of my bumper had broken off too. She hadn't even noticed that though until I pointed it out. Her insurance will cover the repairs but it seems my car got off with the lesser damage. Looks like that missing piece of chrome from the bumper of my car dug into her Bronco real good before it fell off because her car is gouged and crumbled at the same level that the piece of chrome had been. Should I be thinking, good job Volvo bumper?

Tonight was my turn to drive for our carpool, so until I could get it into a shop so the broken pieces could be replaced, I dried the rain off the car as best I could and applied a layer of two-inch wide clear package tape over the broken pieces, hopeful that they won't fall off as I drive down the highway.