Monday, December 14, 2009

Slow Parking Lot Walkers


Maybe you're swinging by the store to pick up some bread. Or picking up dry cleaning. Or meeting a friend for lunch. There's plenty of parking, yet your path is blocked by Slow Parking Lot Walkers.
I'm not talking about someone who's slow because he has a bad knee.  I mean the average parking lot walker who strolls (or waddles) in front of your car, without looking.
C'mon,
I think, Let's go! 
I have two conflicting theories about them:
  1. They are evil, selfish boors who think they're more important than anyone else.
  2. Since they're approaching the store, they're preoccupied with what they need there (Okay, I need a can of coffee, burger buns, Sloppy Joe Mix...) and  what's going to happen when they get home (...when the food's simmering I can pay the bills and go over the checkbook etc...).  They don't notice there's a problem.
My second theory is the most likely. My evidence?
Once I park my car (after wishing childishly hateful things on the Slow Parking Lot Walkers,) I think things like Did I forget anything on the shopping list? Should I get fresh butter? Do I have enough soda? Do I want to cook dinner or just pop something in the microwave- shoot- gotta check my online statement to make sure... as I stroll to the store, slowly, not watching where I'm going.


 

10 comments:

Linda Davick said...

Ikimasho! Ikimasho! You are a much kinder person than I am.

I love the colors in your illustration.

stray said...

You are very kind to think the best of people. I also wonder about the people in the store aisles and at the gym. Some think it's ok to take up all the available space. I'm always trying to dart around between them.

GhostBuild said...

Nicely done with the illo, the half-open eyes and smirking mouth curvature tells the whole story.

I can identify with this frustration myself, most certainly.

Makes one wonder if they are really that oblivious that a car is trying to get around them, or is waiting for them to cross the street? It's not like my car is electric and thus, completely silent.

Yeah, I'm thinking "No", they just can't be bothered to behave with common courtesy.

I guess its all about how we choose to react... but putting a roo bar on my vehicle just really ruins the asthetics of the car, ya'know? XD

Namowal (Jennifer Bourne) said...

Hi Linda,
Kind? Me? I'm sure I could scrounge up a few people who thought I was a regular she-bastard if I tried.
Thanks for liking the colors. I find it tricky to get them just right.

Hi Stray,
Slow (or just-standing-there) people who block my way make me want to rip my hair out. Idiots! Of course, many's the time I've been chatting with someone who points behind me and says "you're blocking their way" or "someone's trying to get by."

Thanks, GhostBuild,
It seems amazing how people ignore cars in parking lots. Maybe they think It's not like I'm in the street, so therefore I'm okay. Or maybe its a subconscious oversight. The same way one doesn't notice a "wet paint" sign until it's too late.
A roo bar isn't a bad idea. Or a cow catcher.

RHSteeleOH said...

I have this problem any place I go where people congregate. But I attribute it to the fact that I'm a fast walker.

Namowal (Jennifer Bourne) said...

Hi RHSteeleOH,
I seem to be a fast walker too. I usually I'll find myself behind some slug (perhaps talking on the phone) strolling at .00001 miles per hour.
Maybe we should invest in air horns...?

stray said...

I'm so rude, I dash around, between, through people, bump into them, etc....

Sally said...

I've been thinking about this ever since you posted it. I'm the person who drives you nuts. I confess!

I walk slowly in parking lots cause it's dangerous, but more than that I think, in L.A., life is home/drive/destination. I don't shuffle in the store, I concentrate while driving, so maybe it's that lull in the lot where I just shuffle along.

stray said...

I just keep thinking about how someday I might be old or injured and not able to move fast, and that sort of sobers me up. Plus I fell a couple times and broke things and thought maybe this was a sign I should slow down and be more deliberate.

Namowal (Jennifer Bourne) said...

"in L.A., life is home/drive/destination"
So true, Sally! Maybe that should be Los Angeles's motto. Wonder how that sounds in Latin?
True to my hypocrisy, I caught myself doing the parking lot slow-shuffle at the gas station last night- right in front of a SUV. D'oh!

Hi Stray,
Good point. Mobility can be a sometime thing.