I was parked downtown this morning in a disability spot just off Spring Garden. It was difficult to get in because someone without a disability tag was parked half in the space with their 4 way flashers on (like that helps anybody) but that’s another story. I usually go to see my doctor once a month so this is the only time I use that particular parking space and usually for about 20 minutes, then I’m out of there. When I came out someone took the time out of their busy day to leave me a love letter on my windshield that reads such as this: “YOU ARE AN ASSHOLE FOR PARKING HERE. THERE IS NOTHING Wrong with you EXCEPT YOUR AN ASSHOLE.” Judging by the way they wrote this letter, I can tell they’re not the sharpest tool in the shed. I’m 28, had a bad work accident, many surgeries and now I can only bend my left leg about 40 degrees. Normal people have a range of about 130 degrees, yeah, it’s a huge loss and it’s permanent. It’s hard enough dealing with the fact that I can’t do my job or do many of the things I used to do ever again like biking, running, jogging, etc. I mean for Christ’s sake, I have a hard time sitting, standing, shitting, sleeping, getting in and out of the car without looking ridiculous and walking these days. I AM permanently disabled, as much as I hate it, have a valid tag and have every right to park there and here’s a letter from a coward informing me that I’m an asshole and apparently they’re a doctor because there’s also nothing wrong with me! —Baby Sitter Killer
This article appears in Oct 27 – Nov 2, 2011.
Um, Baby Sitter Killer? I was with ya ’til that. I don’t get it. Anybody?
If you had your tag on your car, then they had no right. BUT I will say that I have seen people who park in the spot with a tag but aren’t visibly disabled, that may have been what happened here. If your injury isn’t readily apparent to others sometimes people assume that you are using the tag illegally, which is an unfortunate risk you run.
Since you know you are disabled and using the tag legally, just let it roll off your back. I’m sure you know the frustration of arriving at a parking lot only to find the handicapped spots filled by lazy people without tags.
I sympathize with you OB. There’s some evil little part of my brain that wishes an invisible disability on these boorish, uninformed individuals who think that unless you look like Stephen Hawking, you can’t possibly be disabled.
Im guessin the letter was put on the vehicle with no tag and they put it on yours.I see this all the time with parking tickets.They take the ticket and put in on somebody elses car.,,,yes its very stoopid.
Im guessin the letter was put on the vehicle with no tag and they put it on yours.I see this all the time with parking tickets.They take the ticket and put in on somebody elses car.,,,yes its very stoopid.
I think it means his disability ‘kills him’ when he tries to sit on babies…
If that was for you, that sucks, OB.
I use a wheelchair, so it’s pretty obvious I have a disability. I know all about Invisible Disabilities, after yelling at a young girl with a serious heart condition years ago in Toronto. Luckily she talked to ke instead of punching me out.
I agree with the above- if you have the permit legit, let the extremely occassional note like this roll off your back.
Wp
I agree with wheelie’s recommendation… OP, you need to get a wheelchair.
My father is disabled and he hates going shopping cause most the time people are using the parking spots he needs tp use. His is also very obvious to anyone.
Just ignore the note since you have a real problem. They don’t know you were in an accident and your leg is fucked.
Hang tough OB, the world is full of stupid people.
I’m thinking that maybe the killer in “When a Stranger Calls”, had a limp.
That’s right.
I reccomend getting a wheelchair.
Apropos of nothing, I look forward to Seb’s comment.
Hey OB, fuck them !
Like you & many others.
I have a ‘bad leg’, I can no longer run, I can’t walk any great distances, just going the 500 ft or so to the mailbox & back causes discomfort. I started diving when I was 17 & still go in occassionally, but my lower leg is pinned & bolted together.
I find it very difficult in fins now, one leg works like usual, the other tries but its painful.
You would never know it to look at me. I have the slightest of limps now, that isn’t really noticable until I get tired, or go walking on gravel , uneven ground. On flat level surfaces its almost imperceptable , my limp.
I don’t consider myself ‘handicapped’ enough to deserve a plate or sticker. But I am no longer my old self…the doctors did the best they could, & the diagnosis when I was first wheeled into the emergency room was to remove it, so I really shouldn’t complain.
“Disabled or Just An Asshole?”
They’re not mutually exclusive, y’know. Ever seen “Murderball”?
“I use a wheelchair, so it’s pretty obvious I have a disability.”
sounds like it would fix the OP’s problem… no?
when’s the last time you got a note on the dash like that?
Maybe someone wrote that note and stuck it to the car ahead of you that was not tagged, and that douchebag figured he wasn’t deserving of the note and placed it on your windshield. Either way a douche move indeed.
http://thatwillbuffout.files.wordpress.com…
Brilliance, PG. I <3 that.
i uh… But.. don’t you have a tag that you put in your windsheild alerting everyone else that you have a right to park there? Why wasn’t that tag visible? Pardon me if they don’t exist. I’m disabled too but i don’t drive.
I ask not because you should give a shit what other people think.. but because without the evidence that you have a permit to park there, you could get towed.
in many cases i dont believe in handicap parking.
like at a grocery store, for instance. anyone that can move around the kms of aisles in a grocery store, does not need to park at the front of the parking lot.
and what is up with the braille at the drive up ATMs?
I think I may have posted this before but if I did…meh, I guess you’re hearing it again. I was flabbergasted (love that word btw) when I pulled into the parking lot of a certain business in Dartmouth Crossing and there were 2-3 spots designated as…get this….”Hybrid Parking Only”! I fucking LOL’d because I couldn’t believe what I was reading. Srsly? WTF? Why should some pretentious granola eater who drives a Prius have preferred parking over somebody else? If anything, the very fact that they are driving a hybrid should mean that they have to park farther away, not closer. And how the hell do you enforce something like that? There is no law the last time I checked. After I wiped the tears of laughter from my cheek, I put my Equinox in park right under the sign and went into the store.
Yes, I do have a permanent tag and it was very well displayed in the windshield. Thanks for the positive comments! It’s a little discouraging when you go to physiotherapy just about every day for the past 4 years, sometimes I can barely move my damn leg to get out of bed and people think there’s nothing wrong and go as far as labeling me an asshole. You guys are right, it must roll off my back.
Also, my name is just a reference to John Carpenter’s Halloween from 1978. No, I don’t actually kill babysitters or babies!
BSK, whether or not you park legally or illegally, you are a frightening person. Perhaps you really are an asshole. Your name indicates at least that. Why don’t you try naming yourself after a movie that doesn’t kill someone?
“TheLakehouse” doesn’t have that ring to it that you’re looking for…
and that’s big words coming from someone who’s name isn’t even a complete thought…
though I must say at times -this being one of them- it does suit you.
You can blame the shittards who abuse the system, OB. The ones who use granny’s decal after she passes away, or the ones who ‘borrow’ a decal from a friend who also has a sign on their plate, and the ones who have disabled family members who use their passes even when they’re not with them for the shit you had to deal with.
People who abuse these parking spots like this should be shot with a ball of their own shit.
Hey Avast – those Hybrid parking places are redemption for the creators of Dartmouth Crossing for building a shopping complex that’s virtually inaccessible except by car. Now they get to credit themselves for saving the planet, since everyone who’s not handicapped, or pregnant will rush out to buy a hybrid to get those awesome parking places.
http://euroross.blogspot.com/Car%20Pool.jp…
http://media.techeblog.com/images/parkings…
Well, there’s no doubt I’m an asshole and it’s not the first time I’ve been called one. My point is that I don’t believe I was being an asshole in this case. If you read the story and the only thing you get from it is that I have a scary screen name and that somehow discredits what I’m saying, that’s sad. Those kind of quick assumptions are likely the reason why I received a letter like that.
it be otay bsk, we’ve all seen much, i say, much worse
OB, those tags can be purchased online…..whether fake or not. How were they to know you were physically and permanently injured? Next time pull out the crutches….also available online for purchase. Looking for a Halloween costume? Dress up as a disabled person….you’ll get the best parking downtown.
At times I’m a young-looking funboy, BSK. I’ve had people walk over when I’m in my car, finishing a coffee and checking email, and ask “do you have a disability?”. I lift the chair frame in the passenger seat and ask do you want to see where my leg used to be? like a real smartass.
It’s noone’s business if I have a disability. I have a permit, they need to mind their business.
I used to be pretty hardcore eith illegal parkers, now I look for the parking cops an direct them to it. I don’t get every one, but they’re not hurting me.
Whatevs.
Good luck with your physio!
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Dress up as a disabled person….you’ll get the best parking downtown
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Well *that’s* hardly offensive, Sebbie. Aren’t you going to call us freaks or monsters? Are you hoping to have sex with us?
At first, Wheelie, I didn’t understand your comment. I wondered why you didn’t feel any gratitude, cuz maybe, maybe, these vigilantes were keeping scofflaws outta your spot.
Then I read the part about your having a visible placard and it was none of their business, and I saw the light. Absolutely right–you don’t need to defend yourself to strangers, ffs.
Just thought I’d share my little epiphany…thanks for the teachable moment.
Xeno-
I’m no George Clooney or Brad Pitt, but I’m a young at heart and well-spoken guy. With trucker mouth.
Anyway. Some people expect the disabled to be drooling and visibly “weak”(I know I’m being offensive. It’s on purpose). So if I’m listening to music with the window down, policing up my odds and ends before driving away or leaving the car , I might look “normal”(ugh) to someone who expect a drooler.
I don’t want to have to “act disabled” for some buttinski.
Thanks for getting it!
P
And he smells nice too!
You could have called yourself “The Thing” or “The Fog” BSK.
I kind of want to see “The Thing” remake, my wife kind of doesn’t. If anyone saw the 1982 version, an American research station crew based in Antarctica travel out to check out a Norwegian station that had gone silent. The only thing they find alive is a dog, the rest of the crew there had been killed and genetically altered, not neccessarily in that order.
The 2011 version is a prequel based on the Norwegian crew.
What this has to do with handicapped parking I have no idea.
Aw, Rosie(ker-BLUSH!)
“they live” is my vote for a carpenter film. the original “the thing” 1951, starred james arness as the monster, peter graves brother
“people who abuse these parking spots like this should be shot with a ball of their own shit” -PK
Damn…here I am agreeing mostly with Petty Kat again !!
I just think it should specify it be shot out of a cannon.
http://harveysmuse.com/wp-content/uploads/…
I am sorry. I just see handicap parking spots as something that we have way too many of. Hence, they are a big huge waste of resources.
When a parking lot that has 6 empty handicap spots,yet the rest of the parking lot is at 80% capacity, then I say it would be a good thing to rent those spots out as 15minutes spots. It would be easy to implement with parking meters, and the money could go towards some sort of children’s handicap charity.
James Arness? Get out of town!!! He said that many a time in his role as Marshall Dillon on Gunsmoke.
As far as handicapped parking is concerned, other favourites would have to include Starman, Prince of Darkness (with Alice Cooper) and Big Trouble in Little China (again Kurt Russell). Were “Escape from New York” and “Escape from L.A.” Carpenter films?
MEMORABLE COMMENTS #1
“People who abuse these parking spots like this should be shot with a ball of their own shit.”
pretty kitty (Oct 21, 2:28PM)
For me, this was a truly memorable comment. I couldn’t get it out of my mind. Here was a parking spot-abuser being shot with a ball of his own shit!
The scene evoked a vision of the abuser being tied to a post placed up against the prison wall. It was noon. The sun was shining. The marksman then took up his position.
He was carrying an old smooth-bore muzzle- loading musket, probably a flintlock. The reason for this was the fact that the powder and shit ball had to be loaded separately which ruled out a cartridge. First in went the powder charge, then the shit ball and lastly the patch. The patch, for those unaware of correct musket-loading procedure, prevents the powder and ball, in this case the shit ball, from rolling out if the musket is pointed downwards. All are tapped down with the ramrod.
Then the powder had to be poured into the flashpan and the flint secured in the jaws of the lock. When the flint hit the striker plate covering the flashpan, a shower of sparks would ignite the powder which would burn through the touch hole and ignite the powder in the barrel. The only thing now remaining for consideration was the quality of shit itself.
The shit, to be fired properly, had to be of a certain consistency, not too soft or not too hard. For example, a fire-able shit ball could not be the result of diarrhea unless you wanted to have a flying shit-omlette which, of course, would result in the loss of accuracy. On the other hand it shouldn’t be too compact like a three-day-old turd if serious, even lethal, injury, were to be avoided. No, we’re looking for something in the middle range, something like Baby Bear’s porridge. Maybe the abuser could be given porridge as his last meal!
Then, of course, there’s the question of the shit ball’s provenance. Was the parking-lot abuser to be tasked with the chore of selecting his own appropriate-density shit ball or was there a special team with the appropriate expertise to look after this small but very important detail? This could be discussed at a later date.
At last, all was in readiness. The marksman takes aim, pulls the trigger. The flint in the jaws of the hammer strike the striker plate, the sparks ignite the powder in the flashpan which burns through the touch-hole and ignites the powder in the barrel. A huge explosion is heard and a billowing cloud of smoke is observed.
The parking-lot abuser has been shot with a ball of his own shit. Amen.
A pleasure as always.
Cheerio!
yep, both were carpenter films. i guess kurt was his muse^^
avast, don’t hybrids plug in? maybe it’s so they can reach the plug stations..
….you can all laugh at me. I have no clue if the plug in or not.
AFAIK, they don’t, IK. Donarious has a hybrid and I don’t think his plugs in.
But the new electric ones do.
In california there were a bunch of charge stations built back in the 90s when the EV1 came out… not sure if they’re still there — GM had all the EVs destroyed.
But, with the new interest in electric cars all of a sudden, perhaps those can be put to good use?
Though, knowing manufacturers, they made the plugs different and new stations’ll have to be built.
*sigh*
Most (all?) hybrids that I know of, don’t plug-in I_K, but I’m no expert either. The electric half of the hybrid allows the car to run around town on battery power. This occurs at slower speeds and stop and go traffic, typically found in downtown core. However, once the car gets up over a certain speed, the electric half of the hybrid shuts down and the combustion engine half kicks in. (Or at least I think it works this way. I’m sure there is probably some sort of manual over-ride that would allow you to switch back and forth on command) When the gas engine is being used, it not only powers the car but also charges the batteries. Some hybrids also employ small generators tied into the braking system that keep the batteries topped up whenever the brakes are applied. The new Chevy Volt electric car uses a variation of this setup. It does have a 1.4 L gas engine but it runs strictly on battery power. The engine does not power the wheels. It’s a generator that kicks in when your charge gets too low and is strictly for charging the batteries while on the road. This car you have to eventually plug in to recharge. I DO know that the parking spaces in Dartmouth Crossing have no plug-in recepticles that I can see. They are just standard parking spaces, each with a sign in front that say “Hybrid Parking Only” or something to that effect and “Hybrid Parking” painted on the tarmac itself. If they WERE for plugging in hybrid/electric cars, then I could totally understand, but as far as I know, they aren’t set up like that.
“Dress up as a disabled person….you’ll get the best parking downtown.”
Being gay doesn’t mean you get special parking. No matter how much women’s clothing you wear.
Did you buy your faggot lifestyle online too?