Metal vs. Corolla

It seems that many of my trips to the Stockton courthouse involve something unexpected, whether it’s a flood in the courthouse, crazy testimony, a defendant hitting on me, someone cussing at me, or an attack/shooting in a courtroom. The latest incident happened Tuesday, though at least this time it was outside the courthouse.

This happened:

My poor little car was parked properly in a parking lot, minding its own business, when strong wind apparently blew a large sheet of metal into it. I wasn’t there, but a friend and I deduced that the metal smashed into the windshield, bounced a couple times across the roof, skidded down the other side of the car, hit a brick wall and bounced back to ding the bumper in a couple places.

Here’s the culprit (which I confiscated as “evidence”):

I think it came off a restaurant’s rooftop vent:

The next day my car went to an auto body shop and I got a rental car. Enterprise didn’t have any cheaper cars available and I needed something that wouldn’t spew shards of glass at me, so they upgraded me to a 2010 four-door Jeep Wrangler. I think I’ll notice the gas mileage difference over the next week, but it sure is nice to sit up higher in traffic for once.

Now I just have to figure out how to use four-wheel-drive. And does anyone want to help me get a ladder to reach the restaurant’s second-story roof and prove that they are missing a big piece of metal? My insurance company covers the nearly $3,000 in damages, but there’s still a matter of a deductible.