My
friend has a blind spot
My marginally disabled friend
gives me rides sometimes, so I hesitate being a backseat driver, but recently I
noticed a pattern he employs that bugs me when it comes to his restricted parking
ways.
My friend has a disability
permit. His first physician said he was well enough and that he should walk
more. The doctor would not recommend a special placard. So what did my friend
do? He drove to the next town for a second opinion.
I don’t believe he told
the second doctor what the first advised. Perhaps my friend exaggerated his
difficulty, trying to gain quick empathy. What bothers me more is that when my
friend aims to park in a designated handicapped spot; a regular parking spot is
often available nearby, mere steps away. What if someone with a more
challenging disability needs the spot my friend just snagged? Someone blind who’s
experienced a horrific crash or a quadriplegic needing wide berth, (which those
spots provide) for maneuvering a wheelchair?
Mt friend thinks otherwise.
For him it’s “First come, first serve!” When I see attitudes like this I’m
reminded of the nine UCLA football players who counterfeited disability
placards in 1999*. Here was a sad case of our most able-bodied men, who trained
lifting weights and running many miles, getting caught being parking cheats.
My friend makes the
argument that he needs the closest spot in the event of an icy pathway. Well,
maybe so, but ironically for him sometimes those much desired spots are the
iciest, since they’re the closest ones to the building shade! I would hope for snow
days my friend would don proper shoes or use lightweight cleats. And call on me
to guide him to the door.
If my friend would consider more mindful courtesy
toward those with less fortunate ambulatory capabilities, it would be a nice
turn of a walk for him to take.
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