Oh Those Handicapped Parking Spaces

After this blog post, I will retire this theme.

I have handicapped placards and tags for handicapped family members. I park in the back of the lot when it is me and when getting my sister out in her wheelchair. With the wheelchair it doesn't matter if you are near or far. You just need space for the wheelchair to come close to the seat with the door wide open. Plus no one accidentally scratches your car when they don't park next to it.

I think many who deal with handicapped people get a stronger view of not using a handicapped space if you don't need it. My pet peeve is the person who backs into a handicapped space without the appropriate tag or placard. You can't help but wonder if they really need the space or are cheating the system.

In the end, it takes a pretty self centered person to park there when they don't need to. And that is a handicap too. Just not one that needs the parking space.

There is a stink in the paper where a young woman got a cruel note accusing her of not needing the space and she has a heart condition. I see both sides. I have seen people hop out of a car with a spring in their step after parking in a handicapped space. You have to wonder. But not all handicaps are visible.

But I have made observations about how people treat the handicapped.

The first one is that black people do a better job training their children. African Americans are quicker to assist my elderly mother. If you look at a black male, they will come and ask if you need help. They step aside at doorways and don't rush past your mother to get in quicker.

I have noticed people pretend to read posts or examine the coke machines as my mother slowly enters. This is where I know it is training. I have always done this. My parents did it. My mom never said, "Pretend to look at the wall of the building or stare in the parking lot until the slower person crosses the threshold". Much like no one was taught to make a quick shove to get by. And yes, I have seen the shove and steadied my mother. If I had had time and position, I would have stuck my foot out to trip them and have a little instant Karma.

I'm not one to believe in Karma. A young man in Hawaii did not want to ride my mother's handicapped scooter off a lift. I had my hands full getting her up a staircase. Mom was afraid of the lift. His dad told him to not play with handicap equipment, you may need to use it one day as a result. I agree with his dad that handicap equipment is not a toy. But being lazy using a handicapped space you don't need does affect your physical fitness. So, you might need it because you lose the ability to move.

I've had an elderly woman honking her horn at me to hurry up. I was parked in a handicapped space and was assisting my sister from the wheelchair into the car. I was not getting the wheelchair and my rump back in the car fast enough. She was tired of waiting. I had two other people who were handicapped that needed to return. But I backed up and parked in the back of the lot. When I walked into the store to check on the other two in my car, the same lady was standing talking to another older woman.

Like that phrase, "Nothing is as queer as folks."

Old but no handicap tag!