Okay, so I'm leaving a school play on Monday. My lady's youngest daughter was in "Little Shop of Horrors" and I had to watch the young, future star do her thing. I walk outside after the show and make my way to my car. Keep in mind that it's 20-30 something degrees and the wind is blowing hard than Monica Lewinsky. When I get to my car I see that some woman has parked so closely to me that I need a can opener to get into my ride!
Doesn't this just tick you off? Don't you hate it when you park correctly between the lines, but some no-driving hack parks an inch from your side mirror? Now I'm faced with a dilemma: do I get into the passenger side and climb over the center console into the driver's seat or do I sit and wait in the freezing cold until the inconsiderate driver comes out of the school?
I chose the latter. I really wanted to see what the reaction of the man/woman would be as they walked to their vehicle and saw that they only left me five inches to get into my car. Well, that was a mistake. I waited. Waited some more. Even waited some more. After close to 15-20 minutes, I see the headlights flash on the SUV indicating that someone was approaching it. I glance up and here comes a late-30 or early 40-something mom trotting across the parking lot. With her are two kids who appear to be around 12 and 16.
Immediately my attitude evaporates with the presence of the children. I may enjoy being a snarky and sarcastic individual, but I do not clown people in front of their children. It sets a horrible example for the kids and it's just low class in nature. However, I do stare at her until she makes eye contact with hopes that she at least will apologize.
Boy, was I wrong.
"I was in a rush. You know how that is," is all she said as she climbed into her vehicle and shut the door.
She got in her SUV and pulled out of the parking spot so that her kids could get in. Her daughter, who appeared to be embarrassed, smiled at me as she approached her passenger door. I complimented her on her singing during the play. She had a lengthy solo and her voice reminded me of an unpolished version of Kelly Rowland. She said "thank you" and told me to have a good evening with an apologetic tone.
Her mom pulled off and I got into my car. At this point, I'm not even cold any more. My temperature is elevated because I'm firecracker-hot that this heifer barely acknowledged me as she got her Humpty Dumpty self in her truck.
As I'm warming up my vehicle, I couldn't help but think about how inconsiderate some jerks are these days. If she didn't know after backing into the spot that she was too close to my car then she definitely should have known when she walked past my car to get into the school. If you're too busy to look where you're parking then you don't need to be driving. That's just how I feel.
The constant displays of thoughtlessness I see make me want to shut myself indoors & avoid the public altogether (SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT: It inspired me to create a warning sign, which I posted earlier this week).
ReplyDeleteEvery day I have to dodge people walk into each other because they’re too busy and distracted to watch where they’re going. They simply expect everyone else to clear a path for them while they focus on window shopping, chatting or texting. Even worse, it’s becoming a thing here now to step out into the street into oncoming traffic and just expect the drivers to stop for them.
End mini-rant.
I understand you completely! You should have posted the link to that post with the sign. People just feel entitled these days and think that what they have to do is more important than what you have to do.
DeleteI would have politely left a nice white streak on her passenger door as I opened mine enough for me to get in without regard for her door. She didn't care about it, why should you?
ReplyDeleteLOL! Well, two problems: 1) I didn't want to mess up my ride. 2) I couldn't get into my car. LOL! I could have climbed over the console from the passenger side, but I refused to do that as a grown man. But believe me, D, had I been in a rush, then I would have hung out with my arm with a key in my hand and "accidentally" scratched something. LOL!
DeleteYou know stuff happens in life, sometime you just need to accept it. People tend not to choose to park that close to another car its something that tends to happen unintentionally and without knowing the circumstances it shouldn't be taken personally. Sitting in the cold waiting to start a fight, contemplating keying a car, and then writing a blog post to incite hate towards people however is something you choose to do. Next time try to contain your urge to spread your anger and just try to make things better.
ReplyDeleteI can't disagree with you on "stuff happens in life." However, that same consideration that you suggest that I have could have been used when she parked her vehicle. Parking outside of the lines is a choice not an unintentional act. And I wasn't sitting in the cold waiting to start a fight. I said that I was waiting to see the other person's reaction to what they had done. Also because I didn't want to climb over my console from the passenger side of the vehicle. As for blogging about it, that was a choice that I decided to make to vent the anger that I felt. I'm not sure how it incites hate when I didn't identify the person in question. Hate towards who? People who park badly in general? Well, if that's the case, then so be it. They need to stay between the lines. Thanks for your comment!
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