Handicap Parking

For the last month I have made it my mission to cruise parking lots just to see how many of the handicapped spots are actually taken up by handicapped people or those that have the cards but they belong to someone else or those that use the spaces just because they do not want to walk. To my surprise there are a lot of pregnant men in North Augusta or men that are new mothers. Hardly a day went by when I did not see some male person parked in the spot reserved for pregnant or new mothers. I watched them get out of their vehicles just to make sure a medical break through had not taken place without my knowledge or that they did not have a female person with them. On any given day the handicapped spots are filled but not always with persons who need them. Even some that have the tag that hangs in the car get out and literally run into a store. Then the thought crossed my mind that maybe now they were giving them out to mentally challenged people also, you know those that can not see the little blue wheelchair or can not read the sign or those that think none of the rules apply to them. Funny thing is I have one of those hanging permits too. Got it when my mother was living with me, used it only when she was in the car even though there were times in that 103 degree weather that I was tempted but conscience would not let me use it. Wal-Mart parking lot has the worst offenders even with that security guy patrolling the area. The grocery stores run a close second since folks just want to “run” in for one or two things what could it hurt to park there? And speaking of offenders, 95% of the people I watched never took their buggies to the buggy corral even if it was only two cars spaces away. The funniest thing of all and I do not mean funny ha ha I mean ironic funny, is that the older men, women and the actual people who are supposed to park in the handicapped spots are the 5% that return their buggies. Now doesn’t that make you folks that use the spots or abandon your buggies feel just a little bit ashamed?
During my parking lot excursions I went into one of our grocery stores to hopefully find frozen pizza dough for an experiment. After looking all through the frozen food department and having no luck I went to find a person who worked in that department. I asked him if he could show me where it was or if they carried it and he said and I quote, “ you can’t freeze pizza dough.” I was dumbfounded for a moment or two then I took him by the hand walked him up the aisle and pointed to the frozen pizzas all while looking at him quizzically. He did not utter a word, he just walked off.
On Monday there was occasion to visit North Augusta Animal Hospital. There are great folks working in that place. I was greeted warmly by the office person even though she was very busy with the phone that kept interrupting. Dr. Proctor and the assistant could not have been nicer. Thankfully nothing major was wrong with my “child” but if there had been it would have been made easier by their kindness.
For sometime now I have wondered how certain members of our community have been able to walk into a financial institution and secure loans for expensive cars/trucks or to open a business or to purchase a home. Now I know. Certain members of our community as well as all across the United States can borrow money without the requisite Social Security Number that we, as American citizens, must have in order to do anything in this country. In order for the average American citizen to secure a mortgage a financial institution takes months searching their backgrounds while certain people walk in with nothing and get money. Certain members of society may also get college educations for free while tax paying Americans go into debt for years in order to pay for an education. How many of you think this is right?