Barry is dead wrong about the handicap spots. Many people I know have mobility issues which don't take a wheelchair or cane.
Knee replacements, heart conditions, or any other number of issues may justify not being able to walk all over the place.
Judgmental BS without knowing the facts can make dave just as much a jerk as those he assumes to be jerks. It must be a low creativity day.
I saw a lady park in one once and then get out and pick up her toddler and carry her across the parking lot.
You must have missed this.....
"I realize that some of these people have problems, such as heart conditions, that are not visible. But some of them, to judge by the sprightliness of their walks, are off to compete in the decathlon. Their only handicap is: They're jerks."
Well on that subject, why have handicapped spaces at all. I mean, what is the big deal about going another hundred feet or so for anybody? Does it really make that big of a difference? Think about it. If you are really so incapacitated that you can't go more than a couple hundred feet, you probably have a wheelchair anyhow.
I don't get the handicapped spaces at all. Especially when you park at a shopping mall and have to go for miles and miles anyway once inside. I think it's just political correctness run amok. Somehow our society survived up until the 1960s with no handicapped spaces and our handicapped had much less mobility options in those days.
What I find humorous is when people spend large amounts of time "jockeying" for a close parking space at the shopping mall, only to spend the next two hours walking endlessly around the mall. I mean, these people get all aggravated and beep and gesture when somebody slides into the spot ahead of them. When all they had to do was park a little in the back where there is ample parking and be inside the mall in maybe 30 seconds. I have a pedometer strapped to my belt everyday and sometimes I record 2 or 3 miles in a shopping mall!
You're right. My friend has peripheral neuropathy and it's much worse when she gets overheated. If she doesn't need a wheelchair when she gets to the store, she will after a nice, long walk across the parking lot in 95' weather. My friend also has periods of remission where she can walk just fine.
From what I understand, MS can also act this way sometimes.
Barry is not wrong about the handicapped cheaters. I have personally seen at least 4 people park in a handicapped space and then run.... that's right.... RUN... into the store. I have seen even more limp from the car to the door to the store and them walk normally. Cheaters abound!
I've got a handicap placard on my Harley-Davidson.
(just kidding)