Parallel Parking my Butt

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I pulled our little Honda into a vast parking spot today and was about to disembark when I got “tooted” by another driver. Checking the mirror I saw a beached Lexus SUV angled into the ample space I’d left. The driver was frantically waving me forward, so I restarted the car and pulled up against the next car to accommodate her boat.

Cue High Noon music. We’d both parked and clearly we’d be meeting face to face, so I had to think of something say. I really wanted to be prickly — what my stepmother once termed “assholian.” Here are the options that ran through my mind:

  • “Wow, those Lexus horns sure are intense!”
  • “San Francisco parking is tough, huh?” (We’re in the ‘burbish part of San Francisco now, so there was plenty of parking.)
  • “Sorry, I didn’t see that there was a boat behind me.”
  • [anguished but silent stare]

But I’m a conciliating wuss, so I played nice. Mostly.

When Parking-Challenged Mom got out of the car and said tentatively “Oh, thanks…” I just said “No problem. That’s a big car, huh?” To which she smiled and mentioned that she was tired, which she illustrated by decanting her 8-month old from the car.

Funnily enough, there was more parallel parking to negotiate. It turns out we were both going to the same place, a make-up music class. As the class circle re-formed after one of the dances, this same mom sat plopped down right in front of Boobaby and me, leaving no room on either side. I tried to slide in next to them, but she didn’t notice.

I didn’t honk, though; I moved around to an empty spot on the other side of the circle.  Giving up a parking space (or rug space) without (much) complaint to a mom having a tough day should mean major karma points for me, right?