I stopped by the Backroad's Casey's on Friday afternoon, for my scratchers. I won $25 after spending $10. But that great windfall, heh, heh, is not the point of this tale.
There was a white pickup truck parked squarely in the handicap space. The other spaces in front of the store were full. So I had to park at the farthest end, next to that white pickup, by the dumpster. Of course there was no handicap plate, nor placard, on that white pickup truck.
As I was sliding down from the driver's seat, I saw a city police car pull onto the Casey's lot. He was coming straight towards me, facing the front of the store.
"OOH! Good! He'll see me hobbling out, with my placard dangling from the mirror, and this unmarked white pickup truck PARKED ILLEGALLY IN MY RIGHTFUL HANDICAP SPACE!" That's the thought that went through my mind. Exactly. With quotes and proper grammar, of course. Once a VALedictorian, always a VALedictorian!
The police car turned left and drove across the front of the store, exiting on the side street.
WHAT IN THE NOT-HEAVEN???
What is the point of having laws if nobody enforces them! It's not like that police car roared into Casey's, lights flashing and siren wailing. It was just a casual drive. Perhaps a cut-through to avoid traffic. Still, there was clearly a vehicle in the lone handicap parking space, unmarked with legal permittage, right in front of the sign proclaiming: $50 to $300 Fine.
No wonder the scofflaws continue to take up the handicap parking spaces. There's NO PENALTY because the police ignore it.
And what's with that law enforcement officer, anyway? Isn't he sworn to protect and to serve? To protect Val's rightful handicap parking space from usurpers, and serve her bloated sense of entitledness?
Now is the time to remember all the times you parked in such places without a placard, before you got one, and be thankful no police car drove past and gave you a lecture.
ReplyDeleteYeah. ALL the times, as if it was every place I went, every trip, my whole life, for no reason at all other than laziness. That makes me exactly like these people, right? Sometimes I wish I was, because that would mean I was an able-bodied rumpushole, rather than a person who tries to do the right thing, but has mobility issues.
DeleteI have no reason to be "thankful" that I didn't get a lecture or a ticket. I knew the consequences, and felt that getting a fine for parking closer at the two stores where I did this was preferable to falling on uneven ground, or getting run over while crossing the parking lot. Nor do I think I deserve a medal now, for NOT using the handicap space at the liquor store or the Sis-Town Casey's. It's a safety issue, not a "getting away with something" issue for me. The people I see getting in and out of these cars without handicap documentation show no signs of physical impairment. No cane, no limp, not even slow walking.
I never parked in a handicap spot!
DeleteGood for you! You must not have needed it.
DeleteI have never used a beeper cart in a store, because I don't need it. I am able to walk leaning on a regular cart, which I joking call my "walker." I leave the beeper carts for people who actually need them.
It's not just the lack of a handicap placard that irritates me. I would never complain if I saw a limpy person, or a pregnant woman, or somebody with crutches, cane, walker, oxygen, arm sling/cast, bandages, bruises, etc. get out of the car. Some people might have a temporary problem, like a sprained ankle, or be recovering from a car wreck, or just arthritis without having the money to go to a doctor to get a placard, or be waiting for an appointment. If you NEED it, use it. Those spaces are not for able-bodied people carrying out pizza, or stopping by after work for a 12-pack of beer. Those are the kind of people I observe getting in and out of these vehicles.
It would be my luck that the one and only time I violated that particular law, I would end up paying a fine. Not now, though. We have our placards, one for the truck and one for the RV. I will say that we have never used our privilege with the RV.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't have minded paying the fine. You know the saying, "Do the crime, pay the fine," heh, heh! It was something I was prepared to do. I was not going to spend the 5-6 months until my next doctor (NP) appointment taking risks when I felt unstable.
DeleteI am in control of my faculties. I know my limitations, and I'm aware of my surroundings. So I have never fallen on a parking lot, driveway, or porch, and taken up the time of first responders to get me up, when they might be needed for a life-and-death call that is much more important than an elderly on the ground.