No Parking. Seriously. You Can't Park There

 I wrote this in 2007.  Amazingly, 7 years later, the problem continues.

I am amazed at how many Starbucks coffee drinkers are apparently illiterate. This is not a blanket-statement dig to the franchise.  Oh, no... for I, myself, am a slave to the dark roasted bean... I am speaking specifically about those who frequent the Chapters/Starbucks in London's north end. It concerns me how so many patrons drive their cars, clearly unable to read the parking signs in the lot. How many times, on any given day, at any given time, does one see the vehicles belonging to those die-hard latte drinkers, lining the fence that is clearly marked with no-parking signs? Now, maybe I’m wrong, but I was under the impression that a no-parking sign meant that there was to be no parking there. Is it me? Or how about the cars that just pull up in front of the café and park right there in front of the entrance, forcing parking lot traffic to go around, or wait for the oncoming vehicles to clear? Perhaps mandatory Drivers’ Ed recertification is in order? This behaviour is offensive even when the lot is crowded, but absolutely abhorrent when the lot is basically empty. Yes, you may just be “running in for a coffee”, but guess what? That’s what the rest of us are doing, too. Most of us park in a legitimate parking space every time –even if it’s raining, or snowing, or if we have to park 50 feet away. Do you know why? Because those are the rules! If you can’t get out of your legally parked car and walk 20 feet to the door, perhaps you should be going through a Drive-Thru. The audacity to exist, believing the rules don’t apply to you! Maybe the issue isn’t literacy. Maybe it’s elitism? Perhaps it is apathy or sheer laziness? One thing for sure, it is inappropriate and shameful. I can’t even count the amount of times that I’ve witnessed a delivery truck unable to complete its mission due to illegally parked vehicles in the way, leaving the driver no choice but to sit and wait for the offenders to return to and move their cars. I’m just sorry I didn’t get to see any illegally parked cars get damaged or blocked in by vehicles actually permitted to be in the area. That would at least be gratifying, instant karma. This current culture, revolving around “the cult of the individual” –the misappropriation of individual rights, leaves very little room for consideration of the common good. No wonder we have a society full of children and adolescents who believe their actions require no consequences –that the rules don’t apply to them. Why not? Look at their role models. Just remember: it’s not about YOU. We all have to co-exist together; therefore, we must all abide by the rules put in place to ensure the appropriate ebb and flow of society. The rules apply to everyone: even those of us who drink Starbucks coffee.