…and no, I’m not waving my blue badge at you for fun. Can you see a running theme in these posts of late?
Today went shopping with my beau and as ever circled like a hawk around the pre-Christmas full mall car park a few times before spotting a gentleman in wheelchair heading back to his disabled space. Zoom, I was round the corner in a shot but was most perturbed to find some boy racers looking rather eager to get into the space I had my eye on. Rightly or wrongly, I suspected their disability credentials.
Now I know I’m stereotyping people myself here; but this sort of ‘hey’ moment has been experienced before. A couple of years ago I made my way to a disabled parking area and one young gentleman parked and got out of his shiny blue sports mobile and remarkably walked without aid or visible impairment (I’m sorry I’ve missed off invisible disabilities in the heat of this moment) and certainly no blue badge to show.
Rather annoyed I waved my blue badge and beeped my car horn at him as he made his way to the shopping centre entrance like a mad woman.
On his way he looked over (guess he couldn’t help notice some mad woman waving her arms about erratically), and what made me laugh most of all, was his audacity upon seeing my display of disability righteousness that I was more entitled to park my car where his was currently stationed, literally stomped back to his car, pulled out of the space in such haste that young men of a certain and predisposition seem quite adept at, and hurried away from his blue badge dressing down.
So when I was in the car-park today I had no qualms of waving my badge once again. To be fair to the young lads this time, they didn’t take the space, but what is most annoying is that people who do not have a badge think it’s ok to use such spaces. Believe me, people like that have no idea how much some of us would like to be able to park whatever distance from shops, malls, and attractions and still be able to get about with such vigour and energy.
In the meantime, I have my beady eyes and blue badge armed at the ready for any non-blue badge holders. You have been warned!