Circle The Block

Circle the block.  That's what my dad always did when the family made trips downtown.  Refusing to part with a penny more than he needed to, this often led to parking extremely far distances from our destination, but we had legs, and walking never killed anyone.  This memory made one thing clear to me, parking stinks.  

As an adult I have re-realized this truth time and time again.  Rushing into a city to make an event, only to find myself struggling for a spot (or forced to enter an overly priced lot) .  I often associate parking with stress or frustration.

There are glimmers of wonder though, that somehow makes the pains of parking dissipate and remind you of how great humanity can be.  Below are some tales from readers that showcase that parking time is always a great time to brighten someones day :
- I had finished pulling quarters out of the bottom of my purse and went out to feed the meter, only to realize that my meter was broken! (yes!!! Free spot!)  As I turned my head, the woman parked behind me was digging in her purse, so I handed her some of the change that I already had in my hand.  She seemed stunned and overjoyed that a stranger was willing to aid (and that she no longer had to weed through her purse).
- My neighbor has a snow blower and I do not (yet).  I returned home from work expecting to have to dig myself into the driveway but he had snow-blown my driveway and I was able to pull right in!!!  What a welcome relief and wonderful neighbor.
- A woman and I both pulled up to a spot at the Target parking lot at the same time and I noticed she had kids in her back seat.  I waved for her to take the spot as I figured it was more important for her to be close to the store, given she needed to deal with little ones and I only needed to get myself out of the car.
- I just came back to my car after touring an apartment, and a young lady asked if I was leaving. I replied "yes" and inquired about how long she planned on parking. When she said she was only dropping something off, I handed her my parking pass, which had thirty minutes remaining. She offered her gratitude with surprisingly elation. It served as further proof that even the smallest act of kindness can have significant impact.
- I put extra quarters in my meter when I leave as a nice surprise for the next parker.
-  Recently I was leaving the hospital and was in a great mood because of really good news.  I asked the parking attendant if I could overpay, so that the next person could leave the lot for free.  I figured that they might not be leaving the hospital in the same mood and that maybe that gesture would lighten their day.
- I always try to pull up as much as possible, so that its easier for others to park behind me on the street.  I would hate to be the reason that a person wasn't able to find a spot by accidentally taking up too much of another space.

Next time you are parking, think about what a pain in the butt it is.  And take notice if you can save someone else from some of that burden.  Hopefully some of the examples above will stick in your head a bit and you will keep someone else from 'circling the block'.   Lets all do what we can to share the love on the road.

What other examples do you have???

---

---