Skip to main content

Conversations About Parking (The Rebuttal)

The recent post about parking couldn't have been timelier.  I was walking home the other day, and I found someone that was on the other end of the parking conversation.  In this case, someone had blocked the driveway in front of this person's house.

To be clear, I think the person has every right to be upset in this case.  For one, that's illegal.  Secondly, it legitimately blocks the path of any cars trying to park in the driveway or garage.  My beef with the people who get on our case is that they feel entitled to something to which they're not actually entitled.  In this case, the people living in this house are entitled to have a driveway free of other people's cars.  I'm siding with the people in the house on this one.

So did these people just tow the offending car to deal with the problem?  No, they did something far, far awesomer (yes, I know that's not a real word, but it's awesomer than "more awesome," thank you very much).  Instead, they got to work with 8.5" by 11" sheets of paper, a marker, and some scotch tape.  When I walked by, every single window on the car had a piece of paper on it with a gentle reminder to the driver of said car.  I didn't spend time looking at every single one, but I do remember seeing all of the following:
  • RUDE!
  • NEXT TIME YOU'RE GETTING TOWED
  • OBLIVIOUS (this one was probably my favorite)
  • INCONSIDERATE (followed closely by this one)
This was a genius plan.  Everyone who walked by or even glanced in that direction would notice the paper, so the driver of the car would definitely get dirty looks if anyone was around.  Secondly, you can't possibly drive a vehicle in that state, so the driver would be forced to pull off every piece of paper.  There was zero way this person was slinking off with a quick getaway.  Lastly, it was completely non-violent & relied on the power of social shaming.  Sure towing the car would have been just as appropriate, but I somehow don't think the lesson would have been quite the same that way.

It's such an awesome plan that I'm half hoping someone blocks my driveway sometime soon.  We never really use our driveway anyway, but the response that I would then be allowed to use would be awesome.
    Labels:

    Comments

    Post a Comment

    Popular posts from this blog

    Waiting for the Suck

    I've mentioned it before, but I like to watch some Netflix while I do the dishes . I don't remember when I started the practice, but it's become a routine at this point. It gives me something to focus on while I do chores, and it makes the whole experience more enjoyable. All in all, it seems like a good idea to me. Now, I know that my screen time is limited. I'm certainly not going to wash dishes for two hours, so I can't watch an entire movie in one go. Heck, half the time, I can't even watch half of a movie in a single session. Ultimately, that drives my viewing preferences, so that I tend to favor episodic shows. Basically, that's how I watch some show or another: one dishwashing session at a time. Recently, that's been the Star Trek: Enterprise show. I never watched it when it first came out on television, so this is my chance to see the whole series. As with many series, there are some good episodes and some not-so-good episodes. Still, it's a...
    Post a Comment
    Read more

    The Joys of Coding

    I normally don't blog about what I do (I'm a software developer), because 1) I've already got a work blog that's more suited for that, and 2) I'm a software developer, so most of the time it's not amusing. Sure, I find it interesting, and I learn things every day. However, unless you already lean towards Computer Science, it's not going to be very amusing to you. So, for the sake of keeping my audience (all 4 of them) happy, I stay away. Today, I'm going to break that rule, because my work actually did cause mild amusement. So, without further ado ... I've got a deadline coming up fairly soon, so I've been coding away for the last few days. It's not busy enough where I'm stressing about it, but let's just say it's a little easier to concentrate on my work these days. In it of itself, that's not news-worthy, but because I've been more productive lately, I've also been generating more working code lately. That...
    2 comments
    Read more

    Nicknames Again

    In a post from a while back , I mentioned that people around me end up with nicknames fairly frequently. It's not always my doing, but I am more than happy to play along. Of course, the best part isn't the actual nickname, it's always the back story that leads to the nickname. And since it's been a while since that previous post, I've picked up a few more stories about nicknames that are worth a chuckle. So, without further ado, I present to you: "ADT" You know how people pay for security systems for their houses? One of the most well-known companies is called ADT . My brother likes to say that he has no need for said security systems because one of his neighbors is constantly on the lookout for what's going on in the neighborhood. She's like a one-person neighborhood watch, complete with a side of the neighborhood gossip. He has actually come home and had her tell him about the comings and goings of his wife. My brother's smart aleck str...
    Post a Comment
    Read more