NO, you are not losing perspective.

Hmmm...I suppose it was sort of an apology-- an admission of wrongdoing.

And I, too, don't care how long people are there-- those spots are reserved for people who have in their possession either a license plate or a red thing hanging from their rearview mirror that says they can park there. Otherwise it is a ticketable offense. Period. I have NEVER parked in a handicapped spot (unless I'm with my mother or grandmother, both of whom have the designated permission and need the spots). I just wouldn't do it. It is beyond gauche.

And it's not just that I have relatives who need such spots. Or a close, dear friend who had a massive stroke last year and needs the spots. Even before then, I couldn't imagine. The blue lines are just a taboo I won't cross. Maybe it's partly superstition.

Oh for crying out loud, I had three kids in four years, and I NEVER used a handicapped spot. I was not handicapped.

I also do not ever say my children are sick when they are not, and if I ever fib and say that I am sick when I am not, then inevitably I get sick for real.

Karma is a dangerous, dangerous thing, and all of those people are playing with it.

I don't even like it when medical students park in my spot, which is not a handicapped spot, but it is MY spot. And I always report them.

I'm sorry, I have been working on a report all day and I'm taking it out on all of those people in your spot.

Ha! That certainly was NOT an apology. That was something along the lines of, "I am special and rules don't apply to me because I am so important and anyway I wasn't there all day and YOU don't look as handicapped as my Great-Aunt Matilda so why are you bothering me and making me feel like a loser instead of the very important person that I am?"

I was raised to believe that those spots are sacred, as well as the "big" restroom stalls. My parents now have a blue card for their car, due to my dad's various ailments. My mom, bless her heart, takes the card down if my dad isn't in the car.

Feel free to rant and rave at these self-centered people. Some of them are probably basically decent people that might actually learn something from your comments!!

Of course you are not losing perspective. If all it took to park there was an apology followed by an excuse, there would be no place for the handicapped person to park. Ever.

She wasn't apologizing. She was grandstanding to fill up the airspace with noise sounding like reasonable stuff that you would just HAVE to understand if you were a reasonable person.

Fight on, Stacey. You've got to be getting through to some of them and gaining a parking spot or two that wouldn't have been there for someone had you not spoken up.

You have not now nor do I doubt you will ever lose your perspective on this. It irritates me to no end when people do that. I really like what Bill did with the picture of the mail truck. Maybe we could have patrols of people with digital cameras just record things like that. If you can get their liscence plate and the sign for the spot in the same shot. It may not have legal standing but I imagine that when people saw it happening they may think twice about parking there, then again a lot of people are a$$holes!

This was not an apology, it was an evasion. People say "i'm sorry" a lot; jews at this time of year are supposed to be saying it to everybody. But it's MEANINGLESS without a commitment to correct the underlying problem. If you go and punch someone in the face because she parked in your parking space, then say "I'm sorry," and repeat the process till you feel better, those apologies do not merit that name. When this trafficker in human flesh and the hard sell told you she was sorry, she was only sorry that you'd CAUGHT her. She was looking for dispensation, not corrective action. It's the inherent selfishness that makes Americans so popular around the world.

Rip 'er a new one. That bitch sucks.

Yeah! What dan said. He always says it better.

When I spot a vehicle parked in a handicap reserved spot on campus, I stand right there and call security -- just hoping the miscreant dares to show up and argue. (I know no fear.) In fact, I happily watched one get towed away yesterday. Boy, did that feel good. Hehe.

Some people use the word apologise and think it is a magic work which will forgive all of their sins It's too easy. I think you're right!!