Handicap Parking

"I'll only be a minute."   

I was at a restaurant last year milling around outside waiting to be called for my table. There was a white van idling in the handicap spot. I'm sure he thought he was only going to be a minute. He was probably just waiting for someone to come out. 

An elderly couple drove up, saw the handicap space was filled and kept driving. They ended up parking down towards the end of the lot. I saw them slowly make their way up from the end of the parking lot. I was watching how slowly they were walking and mentally chastising the van driver. That is why I saw the old woman fall down.

She got hurt.

And the worst thing?   The driver in the white van was still idling in the handicap parking space the whole time.

You may think you are only going to be a minute but a minute is all it takes for someone to drive up and see the space is full. And admit it, that minute often stretches into several minutes. You may end up waiting in line or needing more time to pick out that movie from the red box.

Think twice before you pull into that handicapped space; be grateful you don't need it.