The jerk who takes the handicap spot
If there's one thing Brett and I both passionately hate, it's jerks who park in handicap spaces without a proper license plate or placard. I've always known that this was a stupid-ass thing for people to do but I never paid much attention to who parked in the H-spot until I dated Brett.
Brett's dad has muscular dystrophy and has had to increasingly rely on mobility aids over the past 20 years. Recently, Mr. S acquired a sweet mobility scooter and van. This scooter + van combo provides him freedom to run errands without help from family and gives him the chance to do more things by himself. Unfortunately, vans and scooters can't guarantee you'll get a parking space if an undeserving jerk parks in the handicap spot.
I am not really "disabled" like Mr. S, but I do have a "disability" (what with cancer and all). After my recent brain surgery I now attend physical and occupational therapy to get the right side of my body back to normal. For now, I use a cane to help with balance and will soon receive a handicap parking placard in the mail. (I don't plan to use this often but I figure it's a good thing to have just in case.)
When Brett and I returned home from a medical appointment today we saw a raised truck parked between two handicap spaces. The vehicle also blocked the "unloading" area for mobility devices (i.e., the space designated for a ramp to come out of a vehicle). Needless to say, we were furious.
So what did we do about it?
We were awesome.
Brett got out of the car and ran to my side to open the door for me. I made a big deal about how much I hurt and used the cane as much as possible. I hunched over and cringed. Brett kept telling me to take it easy. I mentioned that it would be a lot easier to get from the car to the house if I could have parked closer but someone else must have had a good reason to use both of the handicap spaces.
You might think it childish but we put on a show. Possibly for no one, but we hope the jerk who parked there saw us, and learned a lesson.
