Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Is There A Space For Me?

I had some business to do at a downtown bank today. It wasn't until I finalized everything that I learned the baseball Cardinals were playing a game that started just after noon today at the stadium on the south edge of downtown. That meant that in addition to all of the normal daytime parking people there would be hundreds (thousands?) of extra cars vying for spots. The bank did not offer the option of a garage. Lovely!

I had a 9:00 appointment at the mechanic's for an oil change and tire rotation, and it was 9:45 when I got on the road. It took a half hour to get downtown, which I thought would give me plenty of time to find a spot on the street, but when I got there two hours before the game the area around the stadium was already a sea of red. There was no on-street parking to be had, and the garages were charging twenty dollars or more.

I decided to try my luck on the north end of downtown. However, I ran into several streets that were closed due to road work. Eventually I decided to head west and call the walk to and from the bank my exercise for the day. The first meter I stopped at was change only (and I didn't have enough in my wallet), so I drove a couple of blocks farther away to snag one that would take a charge card.

Next I had to guess how long I would be parked there. I've been in enough downtown banks to know that it sometimes takes a while to get service, and I also had to factor in the eight block walk each way. It was only a dollar an hour to park, so I paid for two hours, locked my car up, and started walking.

Just my luck that today the bank was completely empty except for the bankers. My business was wrapped up in ten minutes. Even factoring in a twenty minute walk each way half of the time remained on the parking meter. As I was getting ready to drive away a car started to pull into the empty space behind me. I got the driver's attention and told him he was welcome to my space and free-to-him parking when I left. He smiled and agreed to wait.

Five years ago today: I Like To Eat, Eat, Eat (Big Apple Chronicles--Day 2)

5 comments:

  1. It is so frustrating when you're in a hurry, can't find a parking space, and there's a long queue at the bank. All I needed was to cash a cheque. The queue was 10 people long and I was concerned I'd overstay at the parking meter. By the time I got to the cashier her phone rang. She took the call and burst out crying. It was a personal call saying her elderly aunt had just died. I told her that her aunt will still be dead in a few minutes' time; can she serve me now and cry later. She cried some more and left her desk. I was eventually served by the manager. I got to the car late and got a fine.

    Honestly, some people have no consideration!

    God bless.

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    Replies
    1. That's just awful! But you knew that, didn't you :-)

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  2. Finding a place to park in some areas around some businesses can be difficult. There are free concerts some nights in town but they are jam packed with people who often are there by 2:00 in the afternoon. It is impossible by 5:00 to find anywhere to park within a mile of the venue. But....that's what feet are for.

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