Nate Armbruster
Usually, when you find a slip of paper on your windshield, it’s a ticket, but sometimes it’s a note. One time I came out to my car to find a note complimenting my parking for some reason. I don’t know what I did, but I’ll take the compliment.
It seems to happen often, just look at some of the notes people left on windshields shared in this Quora thread.
1.
“To Whom It May Concern,
As you can see from your bumper sitting on the ground, I backed up too fast.
I’m leaving you this note because there are witnesses and I am pretending to write down my insurance and contact info. Problem is, I have no insurance—Sucka!”
There was another note.
“I witnessed a kid in a truck hit your car. I wrote down his license plate number. My name and number is [edited for privacy].”
The judge was not amused.
2.
More along the lines of a coded message than a note.
My first wife and I were teens when we got married. Before we divorced, I caught her cheating with a “friend”. Later on, I met a goddess of a woman. She worked at the same hospital as I. God, she was gorgeous! I got up the courage to talk to her one night at work. It was a thrill just to hear her speak. We talked about favorite things, just making conversation.
The subject went to favorite drinks. I confided that I liked Miller Lite beer and she preferred Coors. I received an emergency call and our conversation ended there.
“Miller Lite? I’ll remember that,” she called out behind me.
I didn’t see her for several days after that, but never stopped thinking of her. She worked opposite shifts and days from me for several weeks. I thought she had forgotten all about me by now, especially a beautiful girl like her. She surely had her choice of anyone! I was down in the dumps, broken-hearted, disillusioned, and devastated.
Then…
One morning as I was going to my car, a sweet 1974 Grand Torino, and there it was! Proof that she had not forgotten me. Sitting on the middle of my car hood was a bottle of Miller Lite! And I was right! It was from her.
I married that woman 35+ years ago, we’ve had 7 children together, and we’re together still. She is still the most beautiful, kind, smart, and thoughtful person I have ever met.
Now, “It’s Miller time!”
3.
I was early in my pregnancy and parked in one of those “expectant mother” parking spots. Granted I was fat at the time, wearing frumpy clothes and had zero makeup on and my hair was a sloppy bun and god do I love my flip flops…Besides the point. Anyways, I come out to my car and someone had written me a note saying: ”you’re too fat and ugly for anyone to ever want to f**k you. Leave the expectant mother spots for the real expectant mothers.” The real kicker? The guy who wrote the note was dumb enough to use company letterhead, I took the note to the company and told them that I was going to make sure that every news station and paper was going to see that letter. (I do get that it could have been written by someone not associated with that company, but where would they have gotten company letterhead paper?) I was floored! The manager went straight to the store I’d been shopping at to review the security footage, the man was fired right in front of me; I did feel a little bad, he had a pregnant wife but his boss said that he could not in good conscience employ someone stupid enough to do something like that on company letterhead. I still have that letter and am still fat
4.
The note was simple:
“You seem to be getting me in trouble. I figure we should meet. Jack”
His phone number was also appended.
How could I not call someone who left a note like this? So, I rang him up. Jack wasn’t in, but I talked to his wife, who seemed to be very nice. I told her about the note, which made her laugh, and left my name and number.
Later that day, I got my call back from Jack. He said that he’d like to meet for coffee, and named a place that I frequented. I agreed to see him there the next morning.
When I arrived, I was deeply surprised to find a 1963 Porsche 356B Carrera II, in Heron Grey, with a red leather interior, and a VDM wood steering wheel. What made that surprising? I was driving nearly exactly the identical vehicle. The only visible difference – even to a trained eye – was the license plates. His said “2000GS,” and mine said “4CAM” (note that there were only 247 Carrera II’s of any type made; two of which were identical, in the same smallish town – highly improbable).
So, naturally, I parked alongside his car, and went in.
Jack had a good twenty five years on me, but he was very friendly and active. We talked about our cars, our shared passion for the marque, and for the Fuhrmann four-cam engines in particular. I’d had mine for about two years. He bought his new, in Germany nearly 40 years earlier.
We talked about cars for a good hour and a half before I thought to mention the note. What was up with the “getting him in trouble” part?
It turned out that I had a dear friend who worked at a couple of adult entertainment establishments. And that from time to time, I’d wind up taking her to work, or picking her up, and would be parked outside the club.
And, it turned out that on at least some of those occasions, I’d been in my Carrera II, and on at least some of those occasions, some of his wife’s friends had noticed the car, and “ratted him out.”
Except, it wasn’t him.
After a good laugh, we drove back to his house, where I got to see his workshop (he did insanely accurate recreations of the VDM wooden steering wheels, among other things) and took the opportunity to set things right with his wife.
I offered to have my friend bake cookies and deliver them as a peace offering. His wife laughed and declined.
We remained friends for several years, even after I sold my car in Monterey.
5.
It was my birthday; had not heard from my daughter or her children. I had only been widowed for a few years. I was feeling lonely & forgotten. So I went for a walk @ a beautiful outdoor mall as a distraction from feeling sorry for myself. When I returned to my car, I noticed a small card placed under the wiper. Not addressed. I opened it up, the message was written in cursive by a young hand. It said, “You are beautiful.” No signature. I looked around for a person who may have left the note. No one was around. It’s been 3 years, I still have the note.
6.
Not just 1 note, but 2!
The first one read – Sorry, a car came at me from the other way, and I bumped into the rear of your car. My details are ….
The second one read – I’m sorry too. I saw my friend had hit your car, so I reversed back to see if she was all right, and bumped into the front of your car. My details are….
The insurance company had a right laugh, as they normally don’t get too many notes.
I live (and park) on the Isle of Wight – things are a little more courteous around here.
7.
I inherited my dad’s resting grump face so people often think I’m in a bad mood when I’m simply being pensive. One nice day I stopped at a park to take a walk. I noticed a young couple in the car parked next to mine but didn’t pay much attention to them. For some reason, the girl must have thought I looked troubled and found it in her heart to reach out and do something about it.
8.
It was not on my window. I had a pickup truck with a camper shell some one had left a note on the window on the shell.
I read the note” There is a rattle snake underneath your truck on the drivers side.
So I open the passenger door crawl over and drove off. They never left a number but I thank them for looking out for me.
9.
I could not believe it when it happened. I went to the post office to pick up a package. I have multiple myeloma which causes bone pain and easily break a bone and causes shortness of breath. I have a handicap placard. I go in and happen to see something yellow on my windshield. I thought it was a ticket. I leave the post office and look what’s on the windshield and it’s a note claiming I’m not disabled. Bull! I may not be in a wheelchair but it does cause disabling bone pain. I went back to the post office manager telling him to look at his cameras and I reported it to the police department as perhaps having been stalked.
10.
I Intended to answer this question and, lo and behold, that very note dropped out from an old folder today!
I had moved to the Wedding Bezirk of Berlin a few months earlier with my beloved Twingo, I still had my Italian license on it.
One morning I get to it and find this note in Italian:
Foreword: I don’t usually leave this kind of messages but we have the same car, exactly in the same color…But mine is Spanishing 🙂
Therefore I’d be curious to know who drives this Turinese one 😉
If you’d like a chat -> (phone number and facebook profile)
We got in contact afterwards and she was a girl from Milan who had lived for some time in Spain and had recently moved to Berlin, went out as friends several times afterwards and I actually rented my flat to her parents when they visited Berlin.
Also, she had managed to get touch-up paint for the Twingo, so we set up a painting date for our cars!
Eventually she moved back to Spain but we still keep in touch occasionally.
11.
I parked in a blue handicap parking space with my placard dangling from the mirror, and returned to my car to find a scrawled note under the wiper that read, ‘your to young to be handicapped in a car like that and the police have been called’. I wish the cop would’ve showed up, so I could show him my paperwork and sneer at whoever thought young age makes you healthy. I had a stroke at a young age and drive a high performance car that I bought prior to health issues
12.
I was heading to a store feeling rather sad as my boyfriend and I had broken up that week. I went inside, did some shopping, and came out to find flowers plus a note on my car. The note was from a complete stranger and it honestly made me so happy. Whoever put that on my car, here’s a big *thank you*!
13.
My mother parked in a rush, late for work.
Hours later when she returned to her car, she realized she’d double-parked.
A note fluttered under her wiper blade.
It read:
Dear random citizen.
It is my duty to inform you that your douche canoe is rudely parked.
In the future, please spare a thought for your fellow humans.From that day forward we all referred to her Subaru as ‘the douche canoe’.
14.
St. Paul Mn circa 2009 meter parking Saint Paul hotel area
the hand written note on a Hardee’s napkin said
The meter reader was 2 cars away and I noticed your meter was flagged I tossed a buck in so if you appreciate it try to carry it forward.
lenny
I did and I do!
15.
Went to visit some church down the street for the first time. It was okay. Came out to find this note randomly tucked on my windshield. I assume they meant it for someone else, because no one there knew me at all, and it doesn’t really make sense applied to me. Still, it hurt. At least it made giving up on church easy.
16.
It happened to my wife in 2006. When she came back to her brand new 2006 Nissan Altima there was a note on her windscreen. In the note the lady said her shopping cart dented my wife’s new car. She left her name n phone number saying she was paying for the repairs. I took the car to a major body work n the repair was about 1300 dollars . I called her n she was a bit shock by the price ( I was shocked too of the quotation) I said I will look around for a cheaper quotation. I managed to find a cheaper quotation from a family owned body shop. She went to pay n all was good. I think it was an unexpected note. A lot of people would just walk away from the scene. That is also the reason I look for a cheaper quotation from another company as she is a Wonderful honest person.
17.
Not on my windshield . . .
My first car purchased when I was 16 was a 9-year-old Ford Pinto. I was so proud! I was one of the few kids in my high school with her own car. Suddenly I had a lot of friends, and it took some time to learn that lesson, but that’s a story for another day. I spent a couple paychecks and got a cheap paint job: bubblegum pink! It looked like a giant Easter egg! I loved that car!
I took it with me to university, where of course it was parked a mile away from the dorms in a gravel student parking lot. I made a point of visiting it every Saturday, even if I wasn’t driving somewhere, just to fire it up and keep the battery happy. Sitting unmoved in a gravel lot for weeks at a time, my pink paint job got awfully dusty.
Someone used his finger to draw in the dust on the windows: “Who said you have any taste?”
It was the first negative comment I’d ever had on my pink car.
Since then, I’ve owned a pink Camaro, a pink Firebird, and a pink Corvette, and I got discounts at my auto paint shop.
18.
Hello there,
“I parked beside your car and when I returned after shopping and noticed your license plate right beside mine. I wish I’d had a camera to preserve the moment, but I didn’t.”I’ve always felt bad that the other driver didn’t have a chance to take that photo. My license plate was REDHED. Hers was FRECKLES.
19.
I was in a hurry and ran out the door. Then ran back in to give hubby his valentines gift and a kiss goodbye. I ran back outside to find my vehicle plastered in sticky notes with each of them having a personal message from my hubby. Best Valentine’s Day ever. Kept them around my inside of my vehicle for years afterwards. My mechanic saw them and asked about them and decided to do just the same thing for his wife the following year.
20.
Back in the 80’s, I worked in a 5 story office building. One day, as I was leaving, I found a note ony windshield. Of course, I opened and read the note while still standing at the door of my car.
It was actually quite sweet for that time. There were no cell phones, creepers were not as rampant as they are now. It was from a man who worked on the 3rd floor ~ I worked in the 2nd, different company. He was an architect. I worked in insurance.
He said that he had noticed me for awhile, coming & going from work and could not figure out how best to ask me on a date. He gave me his work number, asking if I would call him. If I liked that idea, then we could meet for lunch outside, in front of the office ~ we could brown bag lunch on the front steps.
That always struck me as such a thoughtful & sweet gesture. We did have that lunch ~ then went to the movies that weekend. We saw, “Back to the Future”. We dated for a while and he was a very nice, polite man in his mid 20-s, like me. We were different enough, though, that we both moved on after a few months, no hard feelings on either side.
I always wish him well when I think back on him and that time. Nobody could get away with trying such a daring act like that today. Knowing what I know now, and the years gone by, I doubt I would have ever made that call. I am glad that I did.
21.
I LOVE YOU
Many notes on my windshield were unexpected. My sister woke up early for one of my birthdays and this was my surprise. She left me many notes on my windshield.
I love her!
22.
It was a note so tiny under the wiper, I nearly missed it. The note said, “Please park in your own road.”
I live in a parking-stressed area near a town center. I buy an annual permit which allows me to park within marked bays anywhere in a particular district. It can sometimes feel a bit irritating having to park two streets away from home, especially if the rain is lashing down, but that’s how it is sometimes. Of course I would park in the road where I live had I the choice, but sometimes I haven’t. In my particular road there are lots of flats, meaning there is insufficient road frontage for everyone’s cars. However, it appears that an effing twat in a neighboring road requires reserved parking. What a wanker. I have narrowed it down to three houses.
If I were to win the lottery, I would pay people to park outside his house. Indeed, I might even buy several old cars, obtain permits for them, and leave them there semi-permanently.
“Please park in your own road” – as if I’ve gone out of my way to NOT park in the road where I live. I’ve asked around and others have received similar notes when parking in the same small close.
23.
I can’t think of any found on mine, but I did put one on the car at Walmart. My note read: Do NOT start your car. There is a cat trapped under your hood. If you listen, you can hear it crying. IF you are uncertain what to do, please call for help.
I also put the same note on the door handle in case they missed the windshield note.
I waited for quite a while, but I gave up and went home. I hope someone found the kitty. I couldn’t stay. I did alert the people in the store with the car description and license plate number, too.
24.
I was parking in Greenwich Village in New York a few years back and accidentally bumped and left a scratch on a brand new car, which was a tiny bit over the marked parking space. When the owner didn’t return in 15 minutes, I left a note on the windshield (which a bystander who saw the whole thing read immediately upon my leaving) and went about my business. when I got back to the car a new note by the owner of the car I damaged had been placed on my windshield. This is what it said:
“No problem,Thank you.”
That was it. I never heard from the owner of that car again.
25.
Several years ago, I found this note on my car. Are you thinking I had a very fancy car? BMW? Mercedes? Classic collector car like Mustang or Beetle from the 1960s?
Nope.A 1996 Toyota Corolla that I had purchased for about $600. Yes, hundred. This is not a typing error. I never called them because I thought it was weird.
