Monday, May 07, 2007

parking lot rage?

This afternoon i went out to pick up some things at my local grocery/home store. I parked far away so i would get some extra walk time and as i got to the next row of cars i hear this yelling. I witnessed a man in perhaps his late 30s, screaming at a younger man who sat in his idling car, taking this verbal abuse. Everyone was staring including me. We couldn't seem to help ourselves. At first i thought they'd had a bump with their vehicles, but the positioning was off. I don't really know what happened, maybe young, ball-cap wearing guy had cut the older man off or taken 'his' parking spot? The screamer was clearly in need of some serious anger management. His tirade included snippets like : "GOOD! LET THEM STARE!" and "I DON'T CARE IF THEY ALL HEAR! *we all did* 'I HAVE A KID IN THE CAR HERE!! AND YOU THINK YOU CAN HAVE ANY PARKING SPACE YOU WANT?!!' (at which point i thought: Get a grip man! You're gonna burst a blood vessel!). Not such a great example for his kid. I decided to keep walking and i merged with another group of gawkers who were also store bound. I looked at this one man and we rolled our eyes. I said: "I've heard of road rage, but i guess there's also parking lot rage?" He shook his head in agreement and said: "Its summer now." I think there's something to that. After winter, people get a little hyper and crazy. Girls walk around in giggling clutches, guys drive around the streets like idiots, fast and loud -- rumbling and whining motorcycles increase my hearing loss in yearly increments, people start with the tank tops, shorts and sandals when its still too cold! If full moon craziness is lunacy, what is fair weather craziness called?! . . . summer?! BAH!

Anyway, i hope young parking lot guy exercises a little more caution and consideration. Parking lots and streets do contain other people. (if inconsideration prompted that episode? i'm not even sure) and i really hope that older, yelling man learns to control his temper - whether or not his tantrum was justified. And they say that women are drama queens? nu-uh.

5 comments:

supersimbo said...

sounds mad Kat, a few weeks ago we were shopping and as we returned to our car this couple were yelling at each other in a car nearby, my first reaction was to try and stop myself from staring BUT you know what, i think its nuts that people can be so loud and rude in public, especially a busy place like a shopping mall car park. When i used to work in the electrical shop i stood and witnessed a full scale row between a husband & wife as they tried to get bags for their vacuum cleaner................NUTS NUTS and that was the summer too lol
you should have tried to intervene!!!

kathryn said...

i know what you mean! you can't help but gawk!!! wow, a full scaler over vacumm bags?! eek!!! as for intervening. . NOT! I didn't want to bear even a teeny portion of that man's ire.

Tracy said...

Great imagery. I felt like I was there. It's sad that people lose their tempers like that - and in front of children on top of it all :p

People frequently "steal" our parking spaces (at WalMart in particular) - but we just move along and look for something else. It's just not worth it... Besides, one of these days Mr. Screaming Parking Lot Man is going to scream at someone who isn't right in the head and happens to have a pistol tucked in their waist band.

Sad we have to think about these things.

kathryn said...

hey, thanx Tee... that means a lot from you, cuz you write so well! i think its becoming more and more common for ppl to blow their tops over such trivial things. i know that most drivers have become angry at some point with other drivers, but you're right, you never know who might be set off in a violent and/or unpredictable way.

Anonymous said...

Geez that's crazy...