I am a mom to two awesome (in my opinion) little boys (7 & 3), a wife, and a (I think) decent person. Most of the time. I try to be a caring, helpful, good, law abiding citizen. I work two jobs, I volunteer, I love my family, friends, kids, and animals. But, there are times like yesterday, when I lose my cool.
There are always things that drive me crazy. But, this one thing is my hot button. I used to be able to brush it off and go on but over time I have been made crazy to the breaking point. I deal with this over and over and over again on a regular basis and I can no longer tolerate... Parking Whores.
I know you know what a Parking Whore is.
A Parking Whore is a person with or without a disability who disregards, abuses and misuses either a parking permit or an actual parking spot and the surrounding access areas.
Why do I care? I care because I have a seven year old with cerebral palsy. He is in a wheelchair, a power wheelchair that weighs more than I do. We have an ADA minivan with a side entry ramp. When a Parking Whore enters the picture and I can't get my kid either in or out of our van, it pisses me off. Royally.
I will go off, especially if I have to sit and wait and STEW while waiting for Parking Whore to get back to their car and MOVE. Parking Whores will incur extra wrath if it is summer, here in arizona, and I have both of my sons and our groceries with me. It gets ugly.
Here are a few examples of what I have experienced in the last year alone:
At least a half dozen times I have had people with handicap parking placards park crooked, and over the line so that I cannot get my ramp out.
I've had a UPS truck park in between handicap spots in the access area so I couldn't get my ramp down. We had to sit in a 115 degree parking lot for over twenty minutes waiting for him to come back and then he had the nerve to be a dick to me when I expressed my displeasure with his law breaking and inconsiderate parking. I should have called his supervisor but I shouldn't have had to deal with it at all. It was hot and we were too withered to even think of it at the time.
In Arizona, in the winter especially, it is very hard to find handicap parking at all because of the number of snowbirds. I have circled parking lots for up to an hour just waiting for a spot and it always seems CARS park in the van accessible spots. GRRRRRRRR!
I have gone so far as to park as far out as possible in a lot so that I can park across two spots. I display my placard and have a large sticker on my door that says I need 8 feet for my ada ramp, and yet, I have people who purposely block me in because they think I am being an asshole and want to "put me in my place".
I have seen people sit in their cars without placards, just "waiting" for someone. Once, at my son's school, I kindly told a woman that she needed to display her placard or she couldn't park there. She rudely told me thanks and rolled up her window to continue her cell phone chat. Nice way to teach your kid to do the right thing, lady.
I saw an older gentleman coming out of Home Depot with a giant trolley cart full of huge sheets of plywood. He could barely push the cart as it was so overfull and heavy. I was alone and about to offer him assistance when he clicked the locks and his car and unlocked a car that was parked in a handicap spot. If you can push a 200 plus pound cart of wood to your car, you shouldn't be parking there.
We had a woman park next to us in the handicapped parking at Disneyland who got out of an ADA van with a boatload of people. She was so kind to my son and told us she had a son with cerebral palsy, too. They had left him at home that day... don't get me wrong, I've been tempted, but if my kid isn't with me, I don't park in the handicap spots.
I am not even going to touch on the number of people who park in a handicap spot with a plate or placard, but get out and RUN into a store.
Then there was yesterday.
I have to start by saying that Monday night we went out to dinner and parked way out in the lot because all of the handicap spots were full. We parked sideways across two spots and came out to see that someone half blocked us in. One more inch and we wouldn't have been able to maneuver the chair into the van.
Irritation meter on the rise.
Then, yesterday, I had to bring my kids to work and all the handicap spots were taken. My irritation meter started to rise again. I parked across two spots and came out to see that someone had parked right up against my van, so I couldn't get the ramp out. Irritation meter edging into the red zone.
We drove all over the place running errands and had to stop at the post office. There were two handicap spots. One was taken and I took the other. I was sitting in the van getting my keys together etc, when a car pulled into the access area and a Parking Whore got out. I rolled down my window and said, "Hey, you can't park there. " She gave me a "Whatever" and went into the post office. A little old man with a cane came out and because of the way she parked he couldn't even open his driver's side door to get into his little truck.
Irritation meter way in the red and KAPOW! I blew a gasket.
When Parking Whore came out of the post office, I was waiting for her. I asked her what the hell was wrong with her and told her "there is a reason you aren't supposed to park there". She fueled my fire. She told me to "fuck off". I came undone. I pounded on her hood and was screaming at her so much that I still have a sore throat today. I barely remember what was said but she started to get out of her car to fight me and I WELCOMED IT! I wanted her to. I was so out of control, I would have killed her without even having to try. She obviously recognized that I was unstable and wisely got in her car and drove away. I had a couple of people say I was right and one man clapped for me. But, I was mortified.
I am ashamed to admit this next part.
I got into my van to find my three year holding his hands over his ears and my seven year old crying. I am still horrified. What is wrong with me, to behave in a such a manner, especially in front of my children?
It's because I have had enough. What makes the Parking Whore's time more important than mine? What makes the Parking Whore more important than my son?
It is not a privilege to park in the handicap spots, it is a necessity.
I would gladly park in the last spot of the lot forever, if it meant my son could walk.
So, now I have decided to turn my anger into something that makes a difference. As of today, I am starting this blog which I dedicate to all Parking Whores. I will post pictures of every offender that I encounter. And I encourage you to send me your stories and pictures to be posted as well.
Also, I am going to begin filming a documentary about Parking Whores. At some point I hope to turn this into a money making adventure so that I can start a foundation to assist people in purchasing the very expensive ADA ramp vans that are essential to so many people with accessibility issues.
