In October of last year I wrote about visiting the Salton Sea in southern California. As we were there, a blinding sandstorm lightly sandblasted our windshield. When the sunlight hit the windshield at the right angle, or if a car came toward us at a critical angle at night, it created a visual difficulty. But we could still see well enough to drive safely so we didn't replace it.
But today is a different story.
A week ago as of this writing, a truck about 300 feet ahead of us lofted a rock that landed on our windshield -- right in front of Carol. In addition to startling Carol and eliciting a yelp from her, it created a crater with five or six cracks radiating outward.
What do you do? There is no need to stop. No sense in getting aggravated, worried, or upset. The truck driver didn't do it intentionally. Change lanes if possible, continue on course and take care of it later. But be assured, if not repaired soon, the cracks will grow and the windshield will become what I call "spider-webbed."
Here's some background information.
The dashboard was created to prevent mud and horse excrement from "dashing" the legs of the driver and passengers. Dashboards on buggies were originally vertical or at an angle, but lower on the carriage.
Windscreens (early name for windshields) also had their beginnings on horse-drawn carriages or buggies. They were made of glass, were mounted on top of the dashboards, and provided protection for the upper body and face.
Since many early cars were manufactured without tops, the windscreen provided some protection from the wind as well as from stuff being splattered by horses and other vehicles. In the U.S., the windscreen became a shield from the wind as the vehicles began going faster; so it took on the name of windshield.
In a car, the "shelf" between the driver and the windshield kept the title of dashboard, and the windshield could be laid down on the dashboard on dry and non-windy days. But the glass broke easily, so improvements in glass quality and safety were needed.
A process called "tempering" was utilized to make a safer glass, but it was soon replaced by "safety-glass." Safety-glass is a laminated glass that is made like a sandwich: two layers of tempered glass with a layer of plastic in between.
Today, the major components of windshields or windscreens are silica, soda ash, dolomite, limestone, and cullet. Often potassium oxide and aluminum oxide are added; but silica (sand) comprises well more than 60 percent of the material.
Also, modern windshields can have more than two layers of tempered glass with layers of plastic (usually polyvinyl butyral or ethylene-vinyl acetate) in between. This allows the windshield to be considerably more flexible and more resilient to blows from rocks or other objects.
Because of the flexibility and lamination, when an object hits the windshield, potential damage is usually confined to the outer glass layer. It may still need to be repaired or replaced, but the lamination prevents the glass from shattering.
Back to today's issue.
I called Safelite AutoGlass Company. They said if the break was smaller than a credit card and has three or fewer radiating cracks, the insurance companies will not provide a replacement. Well, the break with cracks was smaller than a card, but it had five or six radiating cracks that I call spider legs -- and they were growing. So we set up an appointment for the next day; and while we shopped at Sears, the car received a new windshield.
Wow! What a joy it is to see super-clearly as we drive throughout the California countryside -- and on interstate highways.
Do you know that our spiritual vision can be damaged by bumps in life? Someone can purposely or inadvertently hurl a spiritual stone at us and crack our mental or spiritual "shield." Then, without the badly-needed protection, we become vulnerable to other dangers. Our damaged vision robs us of wisdom, and our poor reactions make things worse.
What should we do? Safelite AutoGlass cannot help us here; but Almighty God can. Ephesians 6:16 says, "Above all, take the shield of faith which will protect you from all the fiery darts of the wicked."
Place your faith in Jesus, in Almighty God. He will give you clear vision and help you make correct decisions in life.
-- Gene Linzey is a speaker, author, and former pastor. He is president of the Siloam Springs Writers Guild. Send comments and questions to [email protected]. The opinions expressed are those of the author.
Religion on 10/12/2016