It Begins At Home

The high school parking lot is a great place to find every stupid driver in existence. And I'm not even talking the student parking lot. I'm talking the front of the school faculty parking lot. The place where PARENTS, including myself, drop their kids off for their regular school day. I always wonder, as I watch in astonishment the level of absolute stupidity, WHY the police don't just camp close by and administer ticket after ticket to violators. It can easily be done considering the Police Department is right around the corner. These ADULTS put their kids, and other motorists in danger because they pull over into the bike lane to let their kids out of their cars "on the fly", blocking all other traffic, including transit buses. They pull into the parking lot entrance intersection even when it's blocked and they KNOW they should wait, thus blocking oncoming traffic. They STOP dead in the middle of the driveways and allow their kids to get out when they could easily pull over so that other cars can get by. Oh, and my favorite is when Mom forgets to tell their child something after they've already gotten out of the car, so the child stands at the driver's side window having a chat with Mom blocking ALL traffic coming and going because the child is now standing in the middle of the two way street.

On a daily basis, my kids listen to me groan about the stupidity of these adult drivers and my complete disbelief at what I see. Not just once, but twice; at drop-off and pick-up. It's the same thing. Yes, there are crazy drivers all over the place. You see it on the freeway, especially here in SoCal. You see it on the city streets. We're famous for our easily egged-on Road Ragers. It's nothing new. BUT, as I sit there every morning and watch the constant flow of moronic parental units, I can actually SEE the future. I know that these kids that they're dropping off are going to have the same lack of thought that their parents do. They're going to be the same type of drivers, perhaps even the same type of people. Somehow, that deeply disturbs me.

Though I complain about it, I refuse to allow myself to fall into that trap of "everyone else does it, so why shouldn't I?" Therefore, I always make sure I'm in a safe zone, not only for my kids to get out, but also for any motorists around me to either pull by, or get out of their own danger zone. I always say to Caris and Bry (even though I know I don't need to), "please watch out for cars". I do that not because I don't trust their judgement, but because I don't trust these brainless people around me. If they won't watch out for their own kids, they certainly aren't going to watch out for mine.

Yesterday, as I pulled over to the side of the driveway in front of the school where I usually drop them off, I noticed a little black Toyota Corolla pulling into a handicapped space. There are approximately 6 of these spaces in front of the school, and mind you, this parking lot is the faculty parking lot, NOT the student parking lot, which is located at the back of the campus. The student parking lot is FOUR times the size of this parking lot. So, this car parks in the space, and I watch as a perfectly able bodied HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT puts a blue handicapped placard up on his rear-view mirror, gets out of his car, along with three other HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, looks cautiously around, swings his backpack onto his back, and walks to class. I'm FURIOUS!

As many of you are aware, I help to care for my ailing, elderly mum-in-law. She has on the average of 2 doctor visits per week. Oncologists, Repiratory Theraptists, Ear Specialists, etc. etc. Whenever we go to her visits, she always brings her little blue handicapped placard parking permit so that we're able to park up front. It takes us quite a bit of time to load and unload herself and her walker or her wheelchair, so I appreciate the wide spaces and close proximity to the buildings that those spaces afford. There is a reason those spaces are there. Over the last year, since I've been helping Mom, I've come to realize how much these placards are abused by able-bodied persons, and it's all I can do to keep my cool. And NO, I don't believe pregnant women should be issued these placards. They're pregnant for chrissake, not sick. I went through three pregnancies, lugging my HUGE self around stores and shopping centers without the benefit of a damn placard. If I can do it, so can they, and if they can't, then they should stay home. No sympathy here.

Back to my point (sorry, I needed to vent). We often hear the wise folk addage, "It takes a village to raise up a child." While I agree that we all have a responsibility to teach right and wrong, my feeling is that raising a child BEGINS AT HOME. I brought these people into the world. It's MY job to teach right, wrong, love, morals, ethics, and all those other life-affirming things that will mold them into self-sufficient, compassionate human beings. I do this, and then send them out into the world, hoping that what I've instilled in them, those things that were not already inherent in them, will stick and carry them through adulthood. I do my job...MY JOB....and hope that the proverbial village will help along the way. But I don't expect that "village" to raise up my child. That's MY responsibility.

With that in mind, when I see kids doing such things as abusing handicapped parking spaces, my thoughts wander back to their parents. Do they know that is taking place? Did they GIVE them Granny's placard for the day and say, "Here, use this because I know parking sucks at the high school?" Even in small things, like movie-hopping in a theater when you've only paid for one movie, or saying that you'll do something, but you don't do it. These are the things that shape you. These are the things that you carry with you into adulthood. If these things are ok, then it's okay to cheat on your taxes, or lie to your friends or partners. It's no big deal...everyone does it. Those stupid adult drivers produce stupid kid drivers. Those parents that say "everyone does it" produce the "everyones" that do it. It may seem so trivial, but to me, it speaks about the things to come.

It may take a village, but it begins at home.