TheBanyanTree: Handicapped Parking and Clutter

[Monique Colver]

I once had a handicapped placard for my car. It was when the fibromyalgia
was bad, so bad that I couldn't walk without pain, and getting from here to
there at any given time was a struggle. The company I worked for, at the
time, was overflowing with employees, so much so that finding a parking
space after 9 am meant walking a long distance. We were in the midst of a
manufacturing area, so the buildings were huge, since there was, well,
manufacturing taking place. Before my placards, I could end up parking two
buildings over and walking, and by the time I got to my office I was both
exhausted and in a lot of pain. It was a struggle to get to the office, and
then to perform once arriving in that condition.

Then I got the placards. We had four or five handicapped spaces right
outside the building, so suddenly my life became so much easier.
Theoretically. If I arrived after 9, or if I went to  lunch and came back,
all those spaces would be filled. And I was, at the time, the only employee
with a handicapped placard. So when I arrived and found all my spaces
filled, I'd park my car in the no parking zone right in front of the
building, walk inside, and ask the receptionist to announce that the cars
parked in the handicapped spots must move or be towed.

I really only needed one spot, and once I had my one spot I didn't care
about anyone else parking there. I knew parking was difficult for everyone
else. But if I were to say, "Just one person needs to move," everyone would
be expecting someone else to be the one, right? So they'd make the
announcement, and suddenly I'd find all the spaces empty, just for me.

It made it possible for me to keep working, it wasn't just a fun thing to
have.

Monique
http://volunteeradventure.blogspot.com/

On Mon, May 11, 2009 at 5:48 AM, Julie Anna Teague <jateague at indiana.edu>wrote:

> Quoting "Margaret R. Kramer" <margaretkramer at comcast.net>:
>
>
> After Ray died, I knew that the handicapped stickers were good until April
>> 2009.  I looked at it as a last gift from Ray, and I used that baby no
>> matter where I went.  It is such a luxury to always have an empty spot
>> right
>> in front of the door.  Yes, I know it’s illegal, but I didn’t care.
>>
>
> It's not so much that it's illegal, it's that it prevents handicapped
> people from using certain facilities at all--people like Ray, who might not
> have the option of walking into a store if they couldn't park close to the
> door.  People who don't have the "luxury" of working legs or lungs.  I
> actually condone letting the air out of tires on the cars of people who
> misuse handicapped parking tags.  Yes, I know it's illegal, but I don't
> care.
>
> My .02
>
> Julie
>
>
>