I FIRST ENCOUNTERED THE STICKY STUFF in a grocery store parking lot. I was just about to get in my car when I saw what I thought was a rather sizable chip in my windshield. That was a real problem because my car is old and foreign and, though it’s not a particularly desirable car in this country due to its relative obscurity and also because automotive shops have neither the inclination nor the ability to service the marque and also because people generally have no taste and wouldn’t know style or engineering if it ran them down in a crosswalk, it’s in excellent condition. I am not considered a cultured individual. I am not well read. I don’t have an artistic bone in my body. And while I’m hardly a gearhead, I am able to appreciate just how lovely and unique this car is. Even now, almost forty years after it rolled out of the factory, it’s still an impressive feat of engineering and timeless bit of styling. This much I know, even if others don’t.
Naturally, I pride myself on keeping that car running smooth and looking good. So what if you can get a chip filled? Even after it’s filled, it still looks like a chip. It’s a big glaring flaw, right there in the pristine glass. Sourcing a whole new windshield would be expensive and time consuming. I was not happy.
But when I put my fingertip to what I thought was the chip in the glass, I
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David Obuchowski is a prolific and acclaimed writer of short fiction and narrative non-fiction. His work has appeared in major media outlets and in literary publications in the US, Canada, UK, and Europe, and has been adapted for film and television. He is co-author (with Sarah Pedry, who is also the illustrator) of the award-winning children's book, How Birds Sleep.