Handicapped Parking

If you know me, you’re familiar with my soapbox. Yeah, it’s the thing I stand on when I have something to rant about. Usually, it’s the r-word. Again, if you know me, its use goes well beyond a pet peeve of mine.

But today, I’m going to leave the r-word be and rant about something else. Here I go. I’m stepping up on my soapbox. In case you didn’t notice, I’m holding a megaphone, too. A very large one. Are you ready?

Handicapped parking.

I hear you telling me: you’ve already touched on that before.

Have I?

Well, here’s the thing. I know no one who reads Zane’s blog would ever in a million years even remotely dream of parking in a handicapped parking space without a plate or a placard. But in case there’s that remote individual out in cyber space who happens to stumble upon Zane’s blog, I have these things to say…

1.     Do not park in a handicapped space if you don’t have a plate or a placard. You know what this says about you? That you’re two things: lazy and disrespectful—like the driver of the 4 Runner at City Market who didn’t want to walk a few extra feet in the rain today. Seriously, unless you’re the Wicked Witch of the West, and you’re going to melt if the rain touches you, I give you zero leeway. You see, if you have functioning legs, that is reason to celebrate. I would love to be able to park out in the boon docks with Zane if he could walk. That would be major party time in the parking lot for us! Unfortunately, he’s in a wheelchair, so it’s much better for him to park close to the building. Which leads me to #2.

2.     Do not park in the white cross-hatched space beside handicapped parking. You know what? That is there for a reason. Did I hear someone in the crowd yell out, “It’s an extra space!”? Indeed, it is not. Its purpose: To place the wheelchair in a safe zone to load and unload the non-walking individual. When you park there (like some moron at baseball did the other day), I can’t get Zane in the car. It takes some creative maneuvering to get him in when your door is nearly pressed against my car. I am a very creative person, but that’s where I draw the line.

3.     If you own a plate or placard, and the individual with the disability is NOT with you, DON’T park in the space. Refer to #1 for what this says about you. 

Let this be known…I am not afraid to confront you if you park in the space and you shouldn’t. I’ve done it many times. As such, I am not exactly popular with the lazy faction at my sons’ school.

So seriously, think twice before even considering the handicapped space. It truly is not there for people who are late and can’t find parking. It’s not okay to use it when you see no other vehicles are around. The thing is, people notice you. Even people who do not have family members with disabilities. They may be afraid to confront you like I do, but (believe me) they are thinking bad things about you. Plus, it’s simply bad karma.