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Opinion October 2012

The Older I Get, The More I Object

A Day of Reckoning

By Suzanne Handler

It was only in that split second that I thought about road rage victims and the notion that this person could be packing a gun. Imagine the headlines: "Senior citizen assaulted by parking-lot bandit in neighborhood Costco."

I called the police because it was the right thing to do.

The day began like any other first Friday of the month: an afternoon trip to our neighborhood Costco to stock up on the basic necessities of life and the occasional extravagance that calls out my name. My life partner and I jokingly refer to this activity as a "mini-date." We often enjoy a leisurely lunch or sometimes even a movie before shopping at the giant retailer where more is the motto, and less is not even a remote possibility.

My partner is handicapped – he walks with a severe limp and must use a cane to navigate easy steps and routes that most people simply take for granted. Because of their wide, unencumbered aisles, Costco is one of the few places he can roam around without fear of falling. In order to relish such freedom of movement, he must hold on tightly to a shopping cart to maintain his balance. As the designated shopper of serious consumer goods in our family, it takes me much longer to peruse the store and I generally find my gentleman 45 minutes later sitting on a bench in the "restaurant" area patiently awaiting my return.

On this particular Friday the parking lot was jammed. It is always busy on Fridays, but on this day there was not a single space anywhere, let alone in the handicapped section where we usually park. After driving around and around for what seemed endless frustrating minutes, my eagled-eyed guy noticed someone backing out of a handicapped slot and headed over to grab it. However, just as we thought we had scored a plum spot, a very aggressive individual zoomed past our car from the right and slipped into the coveted space before we were able to secure it for ourselves. Such is life.

We eventually found a place in the general lot, at which point my sweetheart decided that he would prefer to wait in the car. His pronouncement did not surprise me as we were a considerable distance from the front door and I knew it would be painful for him to walk. I got out of the car with a promise to make my trip as brief as possible, leaving a somewhat disgruntled man behind. As I walked across the huge lot, I suddenly found myself right behind the thief who stole our parking place. While I followed this apparently able-bodied man (about 45-50 years old) into the store, I made a momentous decision: I would confront a total stranger and demand an explanation for his rude and illegal behavior.

With my heart pounding so loudly I was sure every customer within 5 feet of me could hear it, I said, "Excuse me sir." He whirled around and there we were -- face-to-face. "I noticed you took the last handicapped parking spot just now and, frankly, you don't look handicapped to me. In fact, I watched you get out of your car and walk without a bit of trouble."

"What's it to you?" he snarled.

It was only in that split second that I thought about road rage victims and the notion that this person could be packing a gun. Imagine the headlines: "Senior citizen assaulted by parking-lot bandit in neighborhood Costco."

"Well, for one thing, you don't appear to be handicapped and my partner is. Are you aware you took a space away from someone who really needs it? For another, it is against the law to park in places reserved for handicapped folks. In fact, it is a $200 fine! Third of all, I persisted, aren't you ashamed of yourself?"

Silence. We continued to glare at each other and I could feel my blood pressure rising like the temperature on that hot August afternoon. I figured he had gotten my point and it was time to move on.

"Consider yourself warned!" I said. Then I turned and walked away, praying that the offender wouldn't follow me and ruin an otherwise terrific day.

I finished my shopping, checked out, and headed for the car. I couldn't help but notice the offender's car was right where it had been, but by then I had simmered down. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, I caught sight of a couple walking hand-in-hand across the parking lot in my direction. They were young. Very young. Completely ignoring my hands-on-hips stance and threatening stare, they then had the nerve to get into their vehicle, sans handicapped placard, of course, and drive away. My first thought was to chase down their car and make a sort of citizen's arrest. Believe it or not, my second thought was about my 9th grade civics teacher lecturing our class about responsibility. What was I going to do about this injustice? By that time I was outraged all over again.

When I got into our car I was fuming. My hands were shaking and my heart rate was destined for the danger zone. I grabbed my smartphone, clicked on Google, and found the phone number for the local police. After explaining the situation, I was quickly connected with the dispatch operator.

"People who are definitely not handicapped are taking parking place from those who need them. Can you send a patrol car over here to Costco and issue some tickets?" Assured by the woman on the other end of the line that the police were on their way, I took a deep breath and relaxed for the first time in an hour.

I grant you that police everywhere have, on any given day or night, more important things to do than arrest parking-lot abusers, but if ordinary citizens don't stand up for the rights of the handicapped then who will?

Next time, and I am sure there will be many such next times, I intend to record license plate numbers and report those who violate the law. If you choose to do the same, it will make you feel proud. I guarantee it.

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