When I worked for DLP, the closest parking lot to our office had several handicapped parking spaces, which is quite normal. However, those handicapped spaces were taken up by obese HR employees who had a harder time walking than most but no other obvious physical disabilities. None of us is sure exactly how these HR employees obtained Handicapped parking permits, because a friend of mine temporarily confined to a wheelchair was denied one despite providing a doctor's note and clearly being unable to walk. To sum it up, my experience with the Handicapped spaces has been a running cynical commentary instead of any serious consideration for people with disabilities.
Today, however, I was changed. At the Starbucks in Boonsboro, I put my (awesome little red Honda Fit) 5-speed in reverse and checked my mirrors before backing out. The lot was full, except for the Handicapped parking space immediately to my right. An elderly woman pulled into it, but we both noticed the elderly man with oxygen tubes in his nose that was following close on her tail.
The woman called out to the man, "Excuse me, sir, I'll be just one minute!" (Meanwhile, he's in his car behind me and preventing me from leaving.)
An argument ensues. She does not have a Handicapped Parking permit, nor does she have difficultly walking-- elderly or not. (A line of cars has formed behind the elderly man, and I still can't back out.)
I can hear her explaining her reasoning to the elderly man who DOES have a permit, in addition to an oxygen tank. "This store, here," (a UPS store), "has failed to send a package to New York like they should have. It will take me just one minute, sir, to straighten the situation out, and then you can park in your space. It's not your space, any way, it's for people like me, too!" (More cars have lined up; I still can't back out, and this woman clearly has no right to the only Handicapped space in a very full parking lot.)
She heads back to her car, and for a second, I thought she was going to move. So did the man, but it turns out she was just getting her purse. In anger, the man drives off to find another space, and the woman begins to laugh.
My windows are down, and she clearly thinks she's in the right so she turns to me and asks, "Can you believe that he expected me to move?"
Rather chagrined myself, I reply, "Well, the space you are in requires a permit, which he has. Do you have one?"
I can see immediately I have offended her, so she tries to defend herself to me. "Well!" She sputtered. "I am only going to be one minute! He can wait if it's absolutely necessary."
"And you can move. There's a reason it's illegal to park there without a permit."
She glares at me a second before hustling into the store. I can see the elderly man shuffling across the parking lot (holding up traffic, because he is towing an oxygen tank and going very slowly.) He has a package in his hand, and I decide to see who comes out first.
Sure enough, after 2 minutes, the elderly man is the first to leave the store and is having visible difficulty making the walk back to his car. I can see the woman in the store having it out with the store clerk (exaggerated gesturing and occasional hand-on-hips attitude) and shake my head. A new respect for parking permits has entered my soul, and I find I no longer resent those handicapped parking spaces.
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