I know I'm far from alone with this, but every day I see people using those spaces who by all outward appearances have utterly no physical limitations other than obvious laziness. Many are using relatives placards and many just use the spaces without them. The temptation to raise hell on the spot gets to me sometimes, but then the notion of taking a needless beating stops me because this is a violent society like it or not. Once upon a time I did raise hell, but now that a gallon of milk is heavy, well...fighting is way low on my list of my favorite past times.
I walk with a cane and move at a snails pace and really need to be in a wheel chair, but I live in a place where a w/c would be tougher than the cane with roots, rocks and assorted junk in my path not to mention I don't have the physical strength to load or unload a wheel chair anyway.
So what's the solution aside from the obvious of living with it? I've asked the store to do some policing of their lot, but that's fallen on deaf ears as they only care about making money and peoples needs always take a back seat to profit. If they had their way there would be no handicapped spaces in any parking lots.
How do you deal with these jerks? Throw nails under their tires?
One of my friends looks like SHakira and can still were tall heals. She has a deginererative nerve disease and she looks good but it is gonna get worse. She lives all the way down in Miami where there are tons of old peple.
What gets to me is that the ones who give her a hard time are the ones who do not even HAVE a handicapp sticker. THEY have yelled at her. They have said stuff like What do you think YOU are doing and then give her the riot act. I dont think she should have to defence herself. Do you?
And she does wear heals because she is a profesional and has to lug around some heavy stuff. She is still trying to make as much money as she can before she has to stop workin and I think that's smart. Because one day she is not gonna be abel to work. She is so much smarter than I am and I always wanted to be like her since I'm not that smart. But she always tells me that she wouldn't wish her illness on anyoen.
She has people yell at her for taking aparking spot she DESERVES and just because she is young and pretty peple think she should not park there? I don't think that is fair. Not at all. So when she gets yelled at but makes it a lesson on how those peopl are just ignorant.
Anyway, this is what I have done a few times. It is such FUN and does my cynical heart good: You go up to the person when they are getting out of or into their car and say: "Oh, excuse me. This space is for PHYSICALLY handicapped, not MENTALLY handicapped." Usually, they don't get it right away.
But, seriously, noirvault, don't worry about it too much. There are mysteries out there. Take care of yourself. Hugs.