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Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Free parking


Now where did I leave it?
London, ON, April 2011

There are two schools of thought when parking a car in a lot:
  1. You get a spot as close to the door as possible. You cruise up and down the aisles, often multiple times, ready to pounce on a prized spot as soon as the Oldsmobile-driving grandmother of seven vacates it on her way to canasta class. You pull into said spot so quickly that you almost clip the corner of her land yacht. You gloat to your partner as you walk the three steps into the Best Buy, pumping your fist in the air in celebration of the fact that you are The World's Most Awesome Parking Machine.
  2. You head for the furthest abandoned reaches of the parking lot, then park as far away from the nearest car as possible, often resorting to advanced calculus to minimize the potential for some other remote-parking doofus to park within the same zip code as your vehicle. You mark your location with your iPhone's GPS functionality because otherwise you may never find your way back when you're done. You quietly enjoy the hour-long walk into the store, typically holding your partner's hand and sharing stories of your day.
Okay, so I overstate things somewhat to make my admittedly lame point. I think it's clear which side of the parking fence I prefer. Where do you stand?

5 comments:

  1. I'll take the close spot if it's there, but I won't work for it. If I have to park way in the boonies, well, the walk in isn't going to kill me. I hope.

    ReplyDelete
  2. There is the third option which was mine when I had a car. Grab a parking space any parking space then come out the store and think where the bleep did I park the darn thing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I chain it (my bike) up to the nearest closed metal structure bolted into concrete.

    :)

    If I could get through life without driving, I wouldn't....and I can, so I don't.

    So far.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I don't think it is clear which you enjoy most, fist-pumping ebullience or hand-holding reflection.

    ReplyDelete
  5. You probably already know I'm kind of a creature of habit...I try to always park in the same level or area of large places, like the Mall of America (parking is listed by states) and use the same entrances, it makes life easier...then being all over the place...one reason my Mom always liked me to drive (ONE of many) cuz I never got us lost ever!

    ReplyDelete

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