by Michael S. Kaplan, published on 2007/11/03 22:31 -04:00, original URI: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/michkap/archive/2007/11/03/5872713.aspx
Another of those MS-ey posts....
I went to Fred Meyer today to pick up a prescription.
I actually drove there rather than scooted (it is getting colder, and I'm trying not to get sick due to the consequences of it).
And I came across an interesting phenomenon, or rather I recognized one that has been there for a while.
Or maybe this is a re-run of the concepts I talked about in That handicapped placard, but it seems a little different, to me.
I'll let you be the judge...
When I first got the handicapped parking pass, I could comfortably walk short distances without using a cane. But I invariably did use the cane when I noticed the way people would look at an apparently young healthy guy parking in a gimp space.
Of the people unhappy with me parking there till they notice the cane, I find it is the non-handicapped most likely to say something or even get adamant about it.
Some of them just being concerned, others not wanting to see someone take advantage after they chose not to.
Anyway, now I often use the scooter, which I guess makes the pass less important since I can make it in from a distance.
Though now, if someone sees the scooter, they don't mind me parking in the handicapped spot -- like I am provably entitled or something.
So when I really did need it, people were more likely to give me a hard time than now, when I probably don't need it.
Am I the only one who notes the irony of their approval now?
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# John Cowan on 4 Nov 2007 1:16 AM:
It's the people who park in those spots with neither plate nor hangtag that get my disapprobation. I check.
# Serge Wautier on 4 Nov 2007 12:14 PM:
Interesting.
Next time I see someone on a handicapped parking lot use a scooter, I'll shout at him about how he/she knows better than anyone that these places are too precious to be occupied by someone with a scooter :-)
# Michael S. Kaplan on 4 Nov 2007 3:29 PM:
Heh, I left myself open for that one! :-)
Catherine Gwinnett on 9 Nov 2007 6:18 PM:
Luckily I am able to handle the great trek across the parking lot more often than not but there are those days where I pass by, staring longingly at the handicapped spots. On those days, I curse that I don't carry a spare cane in the back seat to 'prove' my entitlement. Sad, but true.
Great post! Thanks for sharing
Catherine