The date was October 25th, 2020. Around 10:00 PM, the Diablo winds raged on with full blast. The wailing winds not only sent chills down the spine, but also threatened to turn smoke specks into inferno flames. Mother Nature's work of art, homo sapiens beware.
Half an hour later, with the wind still gushing through the half-open double-hung bedroom window, I felt chilly.I attempted to push the top window upwards to close, but the top window did not budge. Then I pushed even harder, the window came loose from the window opening and fell towards the ground. The window smashed into a million pieces, its wooden frame destroyed. The glass shards and dark gray window frames made the whole scene super macabre. Halloween finally arrived.
There was no one, no animal, no vehicle in sight. No one was hurt, nothing except for the window was damaged. Luckily, I did not fall out of the building when the top window went downward projectile for the ground (that would be a real Halloween nightmare). I texted my landlord the morning after. As a temporary solution, she arranged to install a piece of plywood to cover the gaping hole (custom-made windows take weeks to manufacture). To sound more goth, it turns out the building is over 100 years old, the window aforementioned was replaced 15 years ago. But the replacement window clearly did not outlive the building.
My landlord graciously lent me tools to clean up the glass shards on the ground. Wearing heavy-duty rubber gloves, I squatted to pick up glass shards between stones and pebbles, I realized that it really doesn't take much to turn a practical tool (window glass) into a hazard (glass shards). As someone who has read about numerous insurance claims on injuries and deaths due to broken glass, fallen frames and toppled signs, I would like to share a few tips so you and your loved ones can celebrate this holiday season safely and peacefully:
1) When cleaning broken glass, wear closed toe shoes and heavy-duty gloves, use a broom to sweep the glass shards into a duster, then dispose the glass shards into the garbage can. If you don't have access to safe tools, request help from someone who does. If a person (not a garbage collection truck) comes to collect your garbage, double bag the glass shards so nobody gets hurt.
2) Please keep your children and/or pets away from broken glass.
3) If possible, avoid walking and driving under unstable structures such as advertisement signs and construction scaffolding.
4) With the current circumstances around the world, I recommend avoiding densely populated areas as much as possible. Such areas are prone for civil unrest that can lead to bad injuries and unforeseeable property damage. I wouldn't go into the specifics as such information is available through various news outlets. Disclaimer, this tip does not apply to people who are activists themselves.
Happy Halloween! Wish everyone an amazing holiday season! If you like this post, hit "like", leave a comment below and click subscribe!
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