Stop making cracks!

Tuesday, February 23

I need you to stop making cracks.  I mean it.  I’m talking to YOU, windshield!

Yes, I got a lovely crack in my windshield.  Most probably from a rock kicked up by another vehicle.  And that small star quickly traveled north as you can see.

Not the end of the world, but something I’d rather not have to deal with. 

First call – the insurance company.  Am I even covered?  Good news!  I am – and it only has a $100 deductible!  I use State Farm.  The claims process could not be easier.  Quick, painless and on the phone.  While I did not get to talk to Jake from State Farm (who could forget him – “She sounds hideous!”), I did get a nice and friendly representative.

Now, I only have one place I want to go to get it fixed.  Old Forge Collision Center at 920 Walnut Street.  Because we have a history.  A long history.

Now I don’t want to sound like a bad driver, but I have had my car at Old Forge numerous times.  And my mother’s car.  And Ken’s car.  And the kid’s cars.  We’ve seen the inside of a body shop more times than you can shake a stick at. 

For me, I had a car that was a rear end magnet.  I got rear ended twice.  Totally not my fault.  I did back into a telephone pole once (and now know why they call it a “blind spot”).  That was just my bad luck car.

Ken, on the other hand, was on a mission to single-handedly reduce the deer population of Pennsylvania one deer at a time.  That is, until he managed to hit two deer in one accident.  I just can’t make this stuff up.

One of the kid’s cars got sideswiped by a hit and run drive on Cannon Avenue. 

Then there was my mother. 

While she still drove, she had her share of little mishaps.  And Old Forge always sent he car back to her shiny and new looking.

I’m now going to share a personal story that gets me choked up every time I think of it.  And it has to do with Old Forge Collision Center.

When my father was ill, my mother got into a small accident on a dark and rainy night.  But enough to put it out of use.  Off to Old Forge it went.   It was a very difficult time for our family, and having a car out of commission just made it worse.  The morning my father died, while waiting for a call from the funeral home, the phone rang.  It was Old Forge, telling me that my mother’s car was ready.  I spoke with him very quickly, telling him that my dad just died and I had to leave the line open for the funeral home (my mother does not have call waiting).

The car was ready, except that the guy that paints the pin stripes was on vacation.  It was just a few days before Christmas.  I could either pick the car up, or bring it back for the pin stripe, of leave it there until the man returned the next week.

With so much going on, we needed the car.  So I told him I would pick it up the next day. 

When I showed up to sign the paperwork, and get the car, I asked if I could make an appointment for after the new year to bring it back for the pinstripe.  He said that wouldn’t be necessary.  Hearing that my father had just died the day before, and wanting to make our lives easier, he had called in his worker from vacation just to do my mother’s car.  And then he handed me a sympathy card to give to my mother.

The card was a simple act of human kindness. Calling a worker in from vacation was a much greater act of kindness.  And I can tell you two things from this.  One, I still get choked up when I think about this over eight years later.  And two, the folks at Old Forge Collision Center are truly wonderful people.

They know how to fix cars.  They know how to treat people.  What a winning combination.

Lansdale Shopping Score:  1

So the recap:

ONE opportunity to shop/eat in Lansdale met.

Let’s see what today brings!