For the first time during a vacation, my rental car was vandalized. It didn't ruin my vacation, but this Unfortunate Incident will be on my mind.

My husband, daughters and I vacationed in San Francisco. We have gone to SF a number of times over the years because I have relatives who live here. My first time in SF was in 1973, and I've been back more than a dozen times.

Each time I go, I have favorite things to do and see: stroll around Muir Woods, drive slowly along crooked Lombard Street, chuckle at the sea lions who live at Pier 39, ride on one or more cable car routes, check out Haight Street and Golden Gate Park. We did this, and also, for the first time, paid homage to the Lyon Street Stairs (great views), went to a local street fair in North Beach, and walked around Japantown's stores and artwork.

I parked our rental car a block away from the northern edge of Japantown, on Webster Street near Sutter. That's where, during a 90-minute window, the driver's side decorative window of the rental car was smashed. Whoever did this also left a six-inch scrape along the side of the car.

When we saw this, we let out a collective gasp. But I went into Calm Emergency mode, and with a thick paper bag, swept up the shattered glass, directed my family to take photographs for documentation, and took notes on the scene. Then we went to meet my cousin and his son, for a casual dinner nearby.

Overall, we had a lot of fun during this vacation. And our car could have been breached anywhere. In fact, back in the early 1990s in my hometown of Brooklyn, NY, the decorative window on the passenger side of my very first car was smashed in, and a thief removed the cheap eight-track cassette player-radio combo. That time I felt angry and upset, and at home, my dad cut a window out of thick plastic and set it in the window frame.

This time, in SF, the window that was smashed will cost me more, even with insurance.

But again, I don't want this to be the framing moment of my vacation. It's difficult to brush aside this type of invasive, angering event. Whether you are on vacation or in your local area, it hurts to have your property damaged in this manner. 

I guess it's a matter of, do I focus on the fun activities and pretty sites of the vacation (including a city pumped up from the Golden State Warriors' NBA victory) or focus on the crappy event? 

And in recent years, there have been so many awful things going on in society. A vandalized car is nothing much in comparison to suffering through a bad bout of Covid or going bankrupt or enduring a natural disaster, etc.

I'm no Pollyanna, but I have to sigh and put into perspective this Unfortunate Incident.