"This Land Is Your Land. This Land Is My Land. So, Stay on Your Land."*
*Quote from Maxine, Hallmark spokeswoman
Okay...okay...so I said I wouldn't be posting every day, but this won't be much of a post.
I just HAD to climb onto my soapbox for a minute and mention one of my all-time-hands-down-most-irritating pet peeves.
Cars parked outside of designated parking spaces.
I'm not talking about parallel parking...a poor job at parallel parking is at least forgivable.
I'm talking...pull-your-car-between-two-yellow-lines parking.
Check out the picture above. I witnessed first-hand the awesomeness that was this parking job.
Then, when the driver and passenger emerged from the car and I saw that their mean age was no less than 75...I got really steamed.
Now...I'll save my rant about elderly drivers for another day. (But trust me...it's a doozy.)
The reason I'll save it is because I know that failure to park properly is NOT confined to the elder set.
It's an across-age, across-gender, across-culture, and across-race problem.
Seriously...if you are either too lazy or too nonchalant or too stupid or too inept to park your car properly between those lines...TAKE THE BUS FROM NOW ON.
Not to mention those folks who drive SUVs that can't even FIT into a parking space.
Taking more than your fair share of a parking lot is rude and inconsiderate...not to mention nervy.
I swear, the more I think about it...the more irate I get.
Years ago, I saw a flier stuck under the windshield wiper of a car that was WAY over its allotted parking area. The flier featured a picture of Mickey Mouse flipping the bird and telling the recipient of the flier a thing or two. It absolutely cracked me up.
Not that I advocate leaving such a vulgar note...but just the idea of it made me feel better.
(For those curious...you can Google it and find it pretty easily...but I'm not posting it here because the language is pretty vile.)
Thanks for letting me vent. I feel quite better now.
Climbs down from soapbox.
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P.S. Check back in later this week, as I got a wonderful package in the mail today and I'll be sharing all about it!
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Labels: Shelley's World
posted by shelley @ 2/05/2007 06:29:00 PM
31 comments
31 Comments:
do it all the time...the kids call it "makin your own park" ~ducks....runs~
well...STOP IT RIGHT NOW!!!!! :P
lol. That Mickey mouse thing is amazing. Amen
NEENER NEENER...I can do it, a'cause I AM a geezah! and dang proud of it!
&:P~~~
That is a pretty bad offense, however, my ultimate parking rant is perfectly NOT disabled in any way, shape or form people parking in the handicap space. LAY-zy. Word.
My dear darling Shells...you sooooo need this site
Wompuss becareful...for they git you and your little kittys too!!
shrew -- that is SO kewl. I'm ordering some. Really gets me how inconsiderate people are...everywhere. I am constantly amazed by it.
I do kinda cut some slack for the elderly, but do noticably cringe in dread when I see one near me. My mother is the absolute worse. She WILL NOT, under ANY circumstances turn left WITHOUT a green ARROW....even if she is on a country road with no oncoming traffic. I just can't get in the car with her anymore.
However, I see more 17 year olds commit the parking violation than 70 year olds.
BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Shrew...that site was awesome.
Hilarious!
By the way folks...I peed FIRST THING THIS MORNING...even before checking the computer.
It was glorious.
I just can't give the elderly a hard time about anything. In fact, I'd give them my parking spot just so's they could park in two spots...if that's what they wanted. (The way most people feel about babies~all warm and squishy~is how I feel about the elderly. Much love on spec.)
I don't have a pet-peeve about "bad parking" per se. What I have a pet-peeve about is people who do that type of thing on purpose...out of arrogance. You know the type: The Porshe owner that parks diagonally across two spots so no one can potentially touch the awesomeness that is their car. I can't stand people like that.
So, basically my pet-peeve is arrogant jerks.
Okay…I wasn’t going to get into the elderly thing…but I think y’all have misconstrued my mention of them on the road.
Of course I wouldn’t drop kick an elderly person for parking poorly. And, yes, I think we should all show extreme respect to our elders.
However, my point is…if a person is impaired (by age or disability) in their driving ability to the point where they can’t park…or stay in their own lane…or react quickly…then they shouldn’t be on the road…period.
I’ll be as respectful as all get out to an elderly person…but if their presence on the road could endanger my life, their life or the life of another…then I’ll have to respectfully ask them to let someone else do the driving.
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Now the arrogant jerk thing...I'm totally with y'all on that one.
Love the site Shrew! I love their "disclaimer" at the bottom - who are they kidding?!
Shelley- I hear ya cluckin' big chicken. I'm picking up what yer layin' down. I feel ya...
Now, I've seen people of all ages parking/driving poorly. Maybe they're impaired, maybe they're drunk...or like me, maybe they're off in lala land thinking about how pretty the clouds look today...
When you say you have a rant about "elderly drivers", it could be construed to mean that you believe the entire group is bad/wrong/unable/impaired, etc. It's hard to see that as anything but a "blanket" statement.
All that to say: I'm glad you clarified yourself! I didn't really think you meant "all people, everywhere, over age X" should be off the roads.
P.S. I saw the footage of you drop-kicking that old lady in the grocery store parking lot. ;)
Are we now acquiesing into political correctness?
Just remembah, folks...sooner or later we all become what we despised at some point in our lives. (remembah "Never trust anyone over 30?")
I don't get what you mean DD. Are we quietly agreeing to political correctness? Are we consenting to or complying with politcal correctness?
Please explain. I'm befuddled and confounded.
I'll tell ya my pet peeve. The big stores that have parking spaces reserved for Mothers w/small children. What the heck???? I have 2 beefs with these:1. Why do mothers w/small children get to park closer? Most small children have much more energy than I do and will skip happily 1 mile and not even get winded. 2. why didn't they have these back in 1988-1998 when I had small children?
I also have a confession-- I can not talk and drive at the same time. Ask HC4S. When we are in the car together I inevitably miss a turn and take us 5 miles out of our way. I should have duct tape put on my mouth upon entry into my little yellow Cavalier!
Wompuss: Does that mean I'm going to become Simon Cowell someday?
Bama, if you become Simon Cowell then I will have to become Madonna. I better start working on my fake British accent.
Wish me luck, I'm getting ready to drive home in 6 inches of snow. Why, oh, why I am a Yankee? Why didn't my grandparents settle south of the Mason Dixon line?
Lee- Good luck with that snow stuff!
It's 71 degrees in Dallas right now!
leejolem...a cavelier? in six inches of snow? now that's just wrong
Wompers...you are so Southern! One does not need a 4X4 vehicle in order to drive in the snow!
Sqee, you are ko-reck (as DD would say). Us Yankees just jump into our vehicles and plow through whatever snow is in our way. It only took me 90 minutes to get home. Wooo Hoooo!!!! (it's normally a 40 minute drive). What's with building owners not plowing their parking lots?
oops I meant Squee! My fingers are still frozen.
This just in MonkBots...footage of Leejolem on her way home!
All right, I am gone for the day and look what I missed! Very very funny.
1. Women with small children need to park close to the mall because it is like a trek across the frozen tundra in a dog sled packed with a month's supply of provisions just to get into Target when you have one baby. Multiply that by two or more and you can see why drive-thrus are a blessing. And yes, I missed the close parking but got in on the tail end of the pregnant parking. At nine months, boy was I grateful for that.
2. This is a timely entry, because of what happened to me on Sunday. My sister was driving in from out of state, and we met up in a big mall to let the little ones get out and stretch their legs. I spot a prime parking space and edge in. I found out that the reason that this prime space was open was because the person had parked about six inches over the yellow line. And they were in this huge SUV. And their doors were partly open.
Because they were napping in the driver's seat.
If they had just shut the darned door, I coulda made it into the space. But I would have had to wake them up to do that. I got mostly into the space before I realized how tight a fit it was and almost could not get out.
I am gonna get me some of those bumper stickers.
bamaborntxbred...heaven forbid! ~LOL~
I'm at work and can't look at the footage of me---how frustrating. I will check it out when I get home Shrew!
Shrew!! You are priceless! Thank you for that video!
That would be the perfect vehicle for the Monkbot!
MindDoc- I would've parked in the spot and made everyone get out of the passenger side....and of course, I would've made a huuuge production out the whole mess. Big enough to wake up the offender. And then I would've apologized profusely for waking them up. (How's that for passive aggressive?)
"w said...
bamaborntxbred...heaven forbid! ~LOL~
Wednesday, February 07, 2007 4:58:00 AM "
Hey, President Bush is a Monkbot?
Bama & Shelley -- I meant the PC stuff b/c everyone was backing off of the old folks' driving. "Third rail" -- slamming old peeps.
I. WAS. KEEDING.
Did you see me waving from the driver side window?
Bama, I wish that I had thought of your solution. I just sat in my car, trying not to scrape the paint getting out. I shoulda played my radio reeeel loud. Rats!
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