Near meltdown at the grocery store

Post Reply New Topic

I had had two earlier yesterday then had a big argument with my husband and was just almost ready to have another one but I had to go to the grocery store and get some things for my mother. Great. I was in a horrible mood, had just finished doing a lot of heavy, sweaty housework and was tired. But I had to go to the grocery store. So, the lot was full except for about ten handicapped spaces up front. Ten of them. I had my moms handicapped parking tag hanging from my rear view because I drive her around, so I parked in one. There were these two rednecks standing out in front of the store talking and they wateched me get out and run in the store. One stared at me so that made me mad and I stared hard at him. Then I went in and was in a hurry, picking her stuff up just wanting to get back home. I was in the frozen section grabbing her some sausage biscuits and this old lady came up and poked me and shoved this flyer in my face and asked if I wanted to come get my picture made with Santa. I said "No, I don't believe in Santa" and went back to grabbing the biscuits. She walked away and said "Well then I don't guess you have any children that you care about". I SLAMMED the door of the frozen food and said "Yes, I do have children I care about, but they don't believe in Santa either" She just stared at me with her mouth hanging open because I don't think she expected somebody to talk back to her after her smart a** remark.

Then, the cherry on the cake of my day came when I was getting back in the car. The two rednecks were still there. They watched me load the groceries and as I was walking around the car to get back in one said "You walk pretty good, whats your handicap?" Now mindyou there were still EIGHT empty handicap spaces. I stopped and said in a low voice "homicidal psychopath". Then I left. I wonder what he thought when he figured out what those words meant.

Hopefully today will be a better day. I might post some more later about all the events leading up to the serial meltdowns of this past week besides the son and his gf situation.

Wish me luck with having a decent day today!

PaganMom

He is probably still working on them, and getting people to think is why we exist!

Keep up the good work.

If the handicap placard isn't yours it is not legal for you to use it.

I'm on 100% disability for several physical and psychological troubles, but the handicap placard is my wife Kathy's for physical.

It's not mine - it is not morally right, to me, for me to use it.

You don't speciify which state in the south, but here's the penalties in Texas if you misuse someone's permit:

Note that this says they could take the permit away from your mother.
http://www.dmv.tx.gov/vehicles/drivers/disabled.htm

And here's what Alabama says:

http://www.dmv.org/al-alabama/disabled-drivers.php


So, the rednecks were wrong to assume handicap has to be outwardly physical.

And, yes, the rednecks were right to question you.

What you did was flat out illegal.

So true, but PaganMom has made it very clear there nevertheless were several other handicap spaces still available in an otherwise full parking lot, and having a placard of one's own is *not* what makes it necessary for someone to legitimately *need* to use one of them.

I'm really not gonna lose any sleep over parking in one of the ten empty spots in the lot considering they were the only empty ones. It's a very very small town and the reason the lot was full was a revival in the building next door. Everybody was there but parked in the grocery store lot.

I honestly don't think these Barney Fife cops around here are really going to stop and run a check on whose thing it is. Really. There is no crime here but they aren't that bored. If there were maybe three spots left I wouldn't have parked in one. I would have parked way across the street at Dairy Queen. But there were ten.

Anyway, using that handicaped thing wasn't the worst. I haven't had a drivers license in 22 years. I'm a great driver so I'm ok. The reason I don't have one is a big paperwork red tape problem in Virginia, where we lived when we got married. I've gone round and round with their DMV every few years trying to get it fixed so I can get my Alabama license back. I finally decided to get a lawyer on it and he's gonna have some information for me in January. Hopefully good news.

I don't have insurance either.

And I'm stealing cable

PaganMom

So, the rednecks were wrong to assume handicap has to be outwardly physical.

And, yes, the rednecks were right to question you.


One other thing. They weren't actually questioning my need to park there based on moral or ethical convictions. They were just messing with me. They were drunk. That's why I gave them the answer I did. They were messing with me.

PaganMom

"But .... But ....But ...."

Adolescent excuse making.

Now that part I'm more benevolent about after having lived in Virginia Beach for 5 years some time ago.

Moved there from Georgia where at the time it turned out you could have a Georgia license almost younger than a Virginia learner permit.
That made for an interesting visit at DMV.

Yes, Virginia DMV has a few issues.
(what, only a few???????????????????????)

Last edited by southwestforests on 21 Nov 2009, 3:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.

duplicated message can't figure out how to delete

Not at all. Adult common sense use.

PaganMom

One more thing I forgot to add. I live in a "town" that's about three square miles. We have two stop lights. Very, very small. The store is pretty small too. The lot has about 25 parking spaces. Ten of which, across the front, are handicapped. They are used mostly during the day mainly, and mainly be the older people who don't drive at night. Any other parking lot of that size would have just two. On Saturdays and the first of the month those spaces are full. During the day that is. Sometimes in the evening somebody uses one or two. Sometimes people even without a sticker or tag or placard use one when everything else is full.

Mr Paul, the owner of that store, had the front designated for handicapped because he has a lot of older customers and a few younger handicapped customers and he wanted them to have all those spaces when they came. Usually on Saturday and like I said it's mainly the older people who do not drive at night. I went there after dark, near closing time. Like I said the lot was full from the revival next door.

So, what does common sense tell you to do in a situation like that?

But, I did technically break a rule. If you're into that kinda thing.

PaganMom

You can can that kind of adolescent crap, but yes, I do realize "but" signifies a following contradiction ... and no, I do not like to call a contradiction a mere paradox, yet (but) that is exactly what that was. PaganMom was technically "wrong" in what she did, and I would have said something to her if I had been there and you could not have found a space available ... yet (but) there was nothing truly wrong with PaganMom doing what she cautiously did!

I wouldn't have parked there if there weren't many other spots available, unless I was driving my Mother. But I understand what you mean by something being technically wrong although really accepted. It's a look the other way type thing. Another example of that that blew me away when I moved here from the city years ago is late at night, when driving through town there will be no other traffic at all. Not one car on the road at all. If you are caught by the light, it's acceptable to look and make sure nothing is coming, then go. In the middle of the night with no traffic it's treated like a four way stop. Odd huh?

PaganMom

Don't know about anybody else's: mine says don't break the law. And, I'm just not willing to take a chance.

I do kind of understand the small town thing, ours is population 8700.
It is the county seat so a lot of surrounding communities are quite smaller, they sound more like size of yours maybe.

Well, I am and I'm not in the least afraid of a ticket. Or a fine. Nothing bad happens. You pay it. It's done. Most of the time, you don't get one.

Are you equating me using the handicap placard that my mother got so I could drive her around, which is kept in my car, to something like a real crime? Robbing a liqour store or cooking crystal meth or maybe even smoking pot?

PaganMom

Okay now, so how did we do, eh?!