Chris

Parking Spaces

Many a passenger in my car has taken issue with the way I find parking spaces. The issue here is not so much in how I park, but rather that I don't have any problem with walking ¼ of a mile from my car to a shopping center. They would rather have me drive around the busy parking lot for 5-10 minutes searching for "the closest spot to the store" and therefore "the least amount of distance to walk to get to the store". What is with that?

I like to think of myself as a realist. By taking one of the spots at the back of the parking lot, I'm saving myself and the passengers in my car from having to deal with the following scenarios that you know will happen every time you are driving around a busy shopping center. I'm trying not to become:

A. "The Cow Catcher"

This is where you find yourself unable to get a parking space and your car ends up in highly concentrated areas of people right at the front of the store. These are grandmothers, soccer moms, priests, and lost dogs that will all be crossing your path as you try to slowly weave your metal death machine around them without incident. And all people expect you not to drive at all, they'll just keep walking in front of you.

B. "The Stake Out"

In this scenario, you find yourself playing an unnecessary guessing game about the intentions of people who are walking in the parking lot. You follow them through the lot, only to see them cut through to their car that is a few rows down from where you are. Not only does this scenario make you appear creepy, it also causes you to drive way to fast in the parking lot to try to catch up with said target.

C. "Sloppy Seconds"

In this scenario, not only are you driving around looking for a space, you've got 2-3 other people in front of you. This means you're going to get the third available space! You also have to watch helplessly as the people in front of you wait for the departing car (which takes its good old time) to pull out of the space and leave. This is the most gut-wrenching of the bunch, especially when in close quarter parking garages.

Oh, and by the way. While others are toiling with the above scenarios, I've at least already spent a great deal of time in the store they are trying to park closest to.

This Time Next Year

Every year when I take down the Christmas tree, it is a bittersweet affair. On one hand, I'm ready for the house to get back to normal. On the other hand, I'm boxing up my favorite ornaments and little Dickens houses and I will not see them for another year. As I wrap each ornament up and shut the lid on it, I can't help but think who I will be when I set eyes upon that ornament again. What will be my worries? What will my daughters look like in a year? Will I have gained new friends that I currently do not know? Will I have lost friends? Will I be fatter or thinner? Will I have watched in horror as another terror attack occurred? Will I be closer to God? Who will be on my friends list? Geez, look at how I take things for granted, will I still even be alive??

I know, it's morbid, but it needs to be considered. Nothing pauses time better than to think about your own mortality. My friend Richard was murdered 7 years ago this week. Sadly, he put away his ornaments for good. But we cannot get so swept up in what might be, that we miss what is.

It just makes me wonder about this time next year. When I open the box that I just shut tonight, what kind of person will I be?