Parking Out Demands

I am normally very kind and helpful, especially if someone asks nicely. But I don’t like people who think they are better than others.

I have some papers to drop off at the bank. The parking lot only has one free space and the car to the right has parked too far left, with the wheels on the line. The free space is VERY narrow, but I manage to park (almost) in the centre of the lines. I am left with only ten centimetres of space between my car and the car to the right, a fancy-looking BMW.

I have just paid for the parking and placed the parking ticket/receipt in my car when someone shouts at me.

Other Driver: “Hey! You! Move your car!”

A man approaches and he looks furious.

Me: “Why?”

Other Driver: “I can’t get into my car!”

Me: “I have parked between the lines; you have not.”

Other Driver: “But the car on my right side was too far to the left, so I had to!”

He is now beet red and steaming furiously, and yes, the car to his right is also a bit off-centre.

If he had asked politely, I would gladly have moved my car, but instead:

Me: “Not my problem!”

And I turn and walk away…

Twenty minutes later, I return to the parking lot. (The teller at the bank was an old friend, so I chatted a bit after dropping off the papers.) The beet-red suit man has found a parking guard and is yelling at her. When I get to my car, I hear:

Other Driver: “You must write a ticket! I can’t get into my car! I have been standing here for almost half an hour!”

Guard: “I can’t! That car is parked correctly!”

Meanwhile, the car on the right side of the BMW has been replaced with another car that is perfectly lined up so there is plenty of space there. The ONLY car not aligned is the BMW.

When I open my car door, I hear the guard saying:

Guard: “But I will write you a ticket since your parking time ended an hour ago.”