The Great American Parking Space War

There are few things that can turn an ordinary, peaceful American into a highly trained tactical operative faster than a crowded parking lot.Give us a steering wheel, a turn signal and the possibility of getting a parking space 20 feet closer to the front door at the super market and suddenly we are General Patton.We don’t want the closest parking space. We need the closest parking space.There may be 27 empty spaces 50 feet away, but that’s irrelevant. Those spaces are for people who have apparently given up on life.We are going to get the one right beside the entrance.I witnessed this recently – or something very much like it – and it reminded me that Americans have developed a unique form of exercise: driving around looking for a place to park so we won’t have to walk.Think about that. We will drive three or four laps around a parking lot, burning gasoline and wearing out our brakes, just to avoid walking an extra 50 feet.

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