Inspired Parking
Posted on Flickr by richardmasoner

I was at the building supply store the other day and that young, healthy, and spry doofus state park dude was parking his official state park vehicle in the loading zone again.

Fortunately, though, I didn’t need to pick up anything outside so he didn’t inconvenience me and he wasn’t directly in front of any of the building materials that are stored outside for easy loading for customers.

Still, he seems to regard the loading zone as a parking spot for official vehicles.

I wonder if he does the same when he uses his private vehicle.

Probably not.

He probably parks his private vehicle in handicap parking, even though he’s young, healthy and spry.

For background on this rant, read Why do people park where they’re not supposed to?

So I’m working on the RV manufacturers pages at my Haw Creek website checking out the links and updating them and when I clicked on the link: [continue reading…]

In Farm Security Administration (FSA) migrant labor camp during pea harvest. Family from Oklahoma with eleven children. Father, eldest daughter and eldest son working. She: “I want to go back to where we can live happy, live decent, and grow what we eat.” He: “I’ve made my mistake and now we can’t go back. I’ve got nothing to farm with.” Brawley, Imperial County, California. Photo by Dorothea Lange, February 23, 1939.

Library of Congress image.

Migrant Family During Pea Harvest  products from Exit78 at zazzle.com

One of my favorite places in the world is 20 miles from the nearest town and seven miles from the nearest road.  Nearly treeless except for those few planted to provide breaks from the harsh winds of winter, it is a broad expanse of lush grass covering the dunes of an ancient desert — land unforgiving of those who tired to break it to the plow — land perfect for ranching.

I never knew the whole story of how the ranch came to be.  All I can remember of it is that a farmer in the days of the Great Depression, with no market for his crops and beef, was able to save his land and his herd by being able to buy a large supply of grain at extremely low prices.  As a result of taking advantage of an opportunity in an unsettled time, the family was able to make it through the hard times and, a little later, buy 21 square miles of range land where the farmer’s son and his bride settled in 1941.

The ranch hold significant positive memories for me. Experiences associated with the ranch, its owners and their family helped shape who I am.   The ranch — a result of a farmer taking advantage of an opportunity in an unsettled time.

The world again faces unsettled times — and opportunities.

What kind of new opportunities might be on your horizon?

A mother in California who with her husband and her two children will be returned to Oklahoma by the Relief Administration. This family had lost a two-year-old baby during the winter as a result of exposure. Photo by Dorothea Lange; March 1937.

Library of Congress image.
Young Mother in California 1937 products from Exit78 at zazzle.com
New large poster at Zazzle

With another photo’s caption, Dorothea Lange recorded more information about the family: “Family of four to be returned to Oklahoma by the Relief Administration. ‘They won’t go until they get so hungry that there’s nothing else for them to do. They won’t go – not twenty-five percent will go’ said a transient case worker in Imperial County. This family was hungry. They lost a two-year-old baby as the result of exposure during the winter. Holtville, California”  Library of Congress image.

(Updated 6/20/2017)

Oldest son of sharecropper family at work in the cotton near Chesnee, South Carolina 1937 June; photo by Dorothea Lange.

Library of Congress image.

At Work in the Cotton  products from Exit78 at zazzle.com

Thirteen-year old sharecropper boy near Americus, Georgia; 1937 July; photo by Dorothea Lange.

Library of Congress image.

Plowing a field in Georgia products from Exit78 at zazzle.com

Inspired Parking
Posted on Flickr by richardmasoner

Quick answer:  because they are lazy, don’t want to walk any further than they have to and basically don’t care if it inconveniences others.

The ones that really bother me are those who park in handicap spots when they don’t have a disability license plate or mirror hang tag.

I also get irritated when someone with a disabled tag zooms into one of these spots, gets out and goes into whatever establishment it is with no indication of a disability whatsoever.  Those spots are for people with medical conditions that make it difficult for them to get around!  If ya can get around okay, park somewhere else!

Of course there are a lot of other examples of people parking in places that they shouldn’t.

What set me off on this was the way a doofus state park dude parked his truck at the building supply store yesterday.

I had gone to Lowes to pick up twenty 80 pound bags of concrete mix.  They keep a large supply outside that customers can back right up to for loading — in a loading zone.

Guess where doofus state park dude parked.

That’s it.  Right in front of the place I was going to need to back up to — in the loading zone!

I figured it was probably be a while before he got done, that he probably had a load of something that need to be loaded onto the truck, so I took a little bit of time to walk around the store — and there he was, by the paint counter, doofus state park dude in his uniform.  Doofus state park dude was a park ranger!

By the time that I got back to the checkout area, doofus state park ranger dude was at one of the counters.  Another register was open, with no customers in line there, so I went to there.  Turned out the two ladies at that counter were doing some register magic that took both of them and took a couple of minutes, but I was still out of the building before doofus state park ranger dude.

On the way out, a skinny young fellow asked me if I was the one getting 20 bags of concrete.  I guess that he was going to be loading it for me.  As I went to get my truck, he went over and started cutting the plastic off of one of the pallets of concrete mix.  Unfortunately, it was the one furthest from where I backed the truck up to, which was the closest place I could back up to without blocking access to doofus state park ranger dude’s truck bed.  So I backed up in front of doofus state park ranger dude’s truck — and I hoped he would be done and out before my truck was loaded, not that I would have said anything.

I mentioned to the skinny young fellow that was going to be loading that I really hated it when people parked like that.  He agreed and said that sometimes they had to go into the store to get people to move because they were blocking others.

As I was pulling away from the loading zone after we had loaded all 1600 pounds of concrete mix, I looked in the mirror and saw that the skinny young fellow was talking to doofus state park ranger dude, who was looking in my direction.

Wonder if the kid said anything.

How about you?  Do you have any parking peeves or stories?

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