Re: [UC] Parking Rage: Bloody Hell!!!

[Bill Sanderson]

I know this topic has been beaten into the ground, but maybe I can help end 
it on a lighter note.  Many years ago I lived in Chicago, and went to school 
at the University of Illinois Circle Campus which was in a suburb close in 
to the city.  The campus had residential neighborhoods adjacent to it with 
houses similar to the blocks of Osage or Melville in our neighborhood.  In 
the backs of these houses would be a paved parking area about big enough for 
one car.

In one of these houses at the end of a row, closest to the campus lived a 
mason who left work very early in the morning, and returned a bit before 5 
as most tradespeople did.  Several days in a row he came home to find a car 
parked in his parking area.  He put notes on the windshield, etc.  When the 
problem persisted after several days--same car, he brought home a load of 
concrete block and built a three foot high concrete block wall right against 
the back bumper of the vehicle.

There ensued a standoff which I never heard the full story of, but the 
picture of the car with the wall blocking its escape was priceless. 



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Re: [UC] Parking Rage: Bloody Hell!!!

[Wilma de Soto]

Dear Chip, 

For the record you and I know that the people who clear these spaces do not
legally OWN them.

It's just a matter of consideration for the effort someone has put forth to
clear a space (usually in front of their home), that while difficult
circumstances exist such as during a heavy snowfall, that people either
restrain themselves from usurping the fruit of another's labor, OR offer to
help dig out several spaces on the block with their neighbors.

Hiding and watching and then jumping right into a space someone else has
shoveled, while giving them the finger and saying they have no legal rights
(we KNOW that!), is wrong.

The snow won't be there forever and things will ease up in a few days. Why
jump into a space when it was scarcely cleared?

As Sharrieff and you have pointed out, my particular situation is different
from a legal standpoint.

However, the behavior that ill-affected me is a progression from the same
mindset that causes people do hide and wait and jump into a space someone
worked to clear. The "I am entitled to do whatever I want to do WHEN I want
to, and to H---with you!", mantra so prevalent these days.  It's just a
matter of degree.


On 2/5/05 11:15 AM, "Charles H. Buchholtz" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

>From:  Wilma de Soto <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Date:  Fri, 04 Feb 2005 21:35:58 -0500
> 
>Well, guess what?  I do not own the city streets, but the City of
>Philadelphia does; and they have laws and ordinances that apply to the
>blocking of any public or private driveway, and I would have been PERFECTLY
>within my rights to summon Officers of the Law to cite him for violations
>thereof.
> 
> That guy was a jerk.  I wish he'd been towed.  You have every right to
> be pissed, because it's illegal to block someone's driveway.
>
>Whether or not people legally OWN their parking spaces during difficult
>circumstances such as a major snowfall, is beside the point.
> 
> I'm honestly having trouble understanding this whole, "digging out a
> parking space" thing, and no one's explained it to me.  I'm guessing
> it's because the people who dig out their spaces (and then feel some
> right to keep them) assume that everyone understands why they do this.
> I think I've figured it out by reading between the lines.
> 
> I don't mind driving on snow, so after a snowstorm I just shovel
> enough snow to get my car to the street, and then drive away.  As long
> as the snow isn't above my car's axels, I can get through.  (I don't
> have an SUV or a truck, but I do have all-wheel drive.)  When I need
> to park, I find an empty spot, and just park on top of the snow,
> through the gap that the last car left.  I figure that if whatever car
> was in there managed to get out, then I can manage to get in and out
> again.  Also, I'm physically able to scramble over the snow bank to
> get to and from my car.  So, parking after a snow storm is pretty much
> the same as regular parking: I park in a spot that someone else left,
> someone else parks in the spot that I left.  I have to shovel my
> sidewalk, and I have to dig out my car >the first time<, but that's no
> one's fault but the weather.
> 
> I'm guessing that some people can't manage in snow, so they shovel out
> their space the way that people shovel their sidewalk, down to bare
> ground.  That's a lot of work.  When they get back, they can't park in
> any open spot, they can only park in a spot that's been totally
> cleared of snow.  So, if the spot they dug out is taken, they can't
> park at all.
> 
> Do I have that right?  Seriously, I'm not being facetious. I really
> don't understand what people are talking about when they say, "I dug
> out my space, so no one else should park in it."
> 
> --- Chip
> 
> 
> You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the
> list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see
> .



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RE: [UC] Parking Rage: Bloody Hell!!!

[S. Sharrieff Ali]

Chip..assuming you read my post on the subject, I was
specifically talking about spaces that are blocked with 
objects as being "sacred" in the city, not spaces that 
are simply cleared. Again, it is not what your legal 
rights are more of using a common sense approach, learning 
what the expectations are and how to get-along in the city.
Snow-time makes everyone (except for kids) a bit stressed.

Personally, if someone doesn't block a space, it is 
particularly unreasonable to demand that someone remove 
their car from a space, how would they know you are laying 
a claim? 

Again, everyone needs to be reasonable and considerate.
Wilma, blocking a driveway is OUT! Call the police, don't 
even waste your breath.

S.

-Original Message-
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Charles H.
Buchholtz
Sent: Saturday, February 05, 2005 11:15 AM
To: Wilma de Soto
Cc: UnivCity listserv
Subject: Re: [UC] Parking Rage: Bloody Hell!!! 

   From:  Wilma de Soto <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
   Date:  Fri, 04 Feb 2005 21:35:58 -0500

   Well, guess what?  I do not own the city streets, but the City of
   Philadelphia does; and they have laws and ordinances that apply to
the
   blocking of any public or private driveway, and I would have been
PERFECTLY
   within my rights to summon Officers of the Law to cite him for
violations
   thereof.

That guy was a jerk.  I wish he'd been towed.  You have every right to
be pissed, because it's illegal to block someone's driveway.
   
   Whether or not people legally OWN their parking spaces during
difficult
   circumstances such as a major snowfall, is beside the point.

I'm honestly having trouble understanding this whole, "digging out a
parking space" thing, and no one's explained it to me.  I'm guessing
it's because the people who dig out their spaces (and then feel some
right to keep them) assume that everyone understands why they do this.
I think I've figured it out by reading between the lines.

I don't mind driving on snow, so after a snowstorm I just shovel
enough snow to get my car to the street, and then drive away.  As long
as the snow isn't above my car's axels, I can get through.  (I don't
have an SUV or a truck, but I do have all-wheel drive.)  When I need
to park, I find an empty spot, and just park on top of the snow,
through the gap that the last car left.  I figure that if whatever car
was in there managed to get out, then I can manage to get in and out
again.  Also, I'm physically able to scramble over the snow bank to
get to and from my car.  So, parking after a snow storm is pretty much
the same as regular parking: I park in a spot that someone else left,
someone else parks in the spot that I left.  I have to shovel my
sidewalk, and I have to dig out my car >the first time<, but that's no
one's fault but the weather.

I'm guessing that some people can't manage in snow, so they shovel out
their space the way that people shovel their sidewalk, down to bare
ground.  That's a lot of work.  When they get back, they can't park in
any open spot, they can only park in a spot that's been totally
cleared of snow.  So, if the spot they dug out is taken, they can't
park at all.

Do I have that right?  Seriously, I'm not being facetious. I really
don't understand what people are talking about when they say, "I dug
out my space, so no one else should park in it."

--- Chip


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Re: [UC] Parking Rage: Bloody Hell!!!

[Charles H. Buchholtz]

   From:  Wilma de Soto <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
   Date:  Fri, 04 Feb 2005 21:35:58 -0500

   Well, guess what?  I do not own the city streets, but the City of
   Philadelphia does; and they have laws and ordinances that apply to the
   blocking of any public or private driveway, and I would have been PERFECTLY
   within my rights to summon Officers of the Law to cite him for violations
   thereof.

That guy was a jerk.  I wish he'd been towed.  You have every right to
be pissed, because it's illegal to block someone's driveway.
   
   Whether or not people legally OWN their parking spaces during difficult
   circumstances such as a major snowfall, is beside the point.

I'm honestly having trouble understanding this whole, "digging out a
parking space" thing, and no one's explained it to me.  I'm guessing
it's because the people who dig out their spaces (and then feel some
right to keep them) assume that everyone understands why they do this.
I think I've figured it out by reading between the lines.

I don't mind driving on snow, so after a snowstorm I just shovel
enough snow to get my car to the street, and then drive away.  As long
as the snow isn't above my car's axels, I can get through.  (I don't
have an SUV or a truck, but I do have all-wheel drive.)  When I need
to park, I find an empty spot, and just park on top of the snow,
through the gap that the last car left.  I figure that if whatever car
was in there managed to get out, then I can manage to get in and out
again.  Also, I'm physically able to scramble over the snow bank to
get to and from my car.  So, parking after a snow storm is pretty much
the same as regular parking: I park in a spot that someone else left,
someone else parks in the spot that I left.  I have to shovel my
sidewalk, and I have to dig out my car >the first time<, but that's no
one's fault but the weather.

I'm guessing that some people can't manage in snow, so they shovel out
their space the way that people shovel their sidewalk, down to bare
ground.  That's a lot of work.  When they get back, they can't park in
any open spot, they can only park in a spot that's been totally
cleared of snow.  So, if the spot they dug out is taken, they can't
park at all.

Do I have that right?  Seriously, I'm not being facetious. I really
don't understand what people are talking about when they say, "I dug
out my space, so no one else should park in it."

--- Chip


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Re: [UC] Parking Rage: Bloody Hell!!!

[BruceWMcC]

In a message dated 2/4/2005 10:58:53 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
Excellent question. The other night I was coming home from a long night of boozing, despite which my senses were keenly alert, fine-tuned to an A-sharp, sharp as a razor, likely due to the large quantities of methamphetamine which I had been imbibing along with my Old Overholt 40s down at the Conrad Grebel Bar and Grille. I maneuvered my Volva Sedan down 48th Street like the Millennium Falcon through the guts of the Death Star, neatly avoiding the pitbulls and Great Danes doing their business in the snowbanks. Arriving at my accustomed parking place I gently descended from hyperspace into a low hover when I perceived that some irksome neighborhood hooligan had staked out my personal space with several garbage cans, a vintage clawfoot bathtub, and what appeared to be an ancient Macintosh computer.
OK, Ross has spoken, it's going to be near 50 this weekend, and the snow is melting.  Time to pull in the garbage cans and move on to a new topic.
 
Bruce McCullough

Re: [UC] Parking Rage: Bloody Hell!!!

[Wilma de Soto]

Title: Re: [UC] Parking Rage: Bloody Hell!!!



Sorry About That, but that little snot went beyond the pale in his quest to obstruct access from private property.

It was totally uncalled for given the fact that I didn’t inquire about his vehicle or ask him to please move.  Just sat there waiting.

He should be strung up by his Timberlanes or Buster Browns or whatever else they are wearing now, and drawn and quartered; and that’s just for starters!

Asking that he slide down a razor blade and land into a bottle of 99% Isopropyl alcohol is too good for ‘im.


On 2/4/05 9:45 PM, "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

Good heavens! Have you taken your blood pressure medicine today??
 
In a message dated 2/4/2005 9:37:11 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
What is the matter with people?

Just this morning as I was TRYING to leave for work, a tan van was parked
across my driveway while the driver went to Sam's Place to get coffee.

Even though I was later than usual, I did not get out of my car to ask if
the van belonged to someone in the store and could they please move their
vehicle.

Nooo!!, I sat patiently and waited.

When said driver came out of Sam's he DELIBERATELY made me wait six more
minutes while he fumbled about in his van for who knows what, added his
coffee seasonings, tuned his radio, lit a cigarette, put his seat belt on,
etc., etc., etc.; all the while checking to see if I was looking enraged
through my side-view mirror, with a smug look that said,

"You may own the driveway, but you don't own the street, you ."

Well, guess what?  I do not own the city streets, but the City of
Philadelphia does; and they have laws and ordinances that apply to the
blocking of any public or private driveway, and I would have been PERFECTLY
within my rights to summon Officers of the Law to cite him for violations
thereof.

Whether or not people legally OWN their parking spaces during difficult
circumstances such as a major snowfall, is beside the point.

It's a game to these people.  Public decorum is nought.

If you didn't buy it, do the work for it, clean it or cook it, don't take
it, touch it, break it, eat it, dirty it or occupy it etc. without expecting
to be called to book.  PERIOD!

If you ARE brought to book, ACCEPT IT and TAKE IT LIKE AN ADULT, for Pete's
Sake!  GROW UP!  ACT LIKE a MAN (or Woman).!!

Special circumstances require special consideration and recognition for the
effort someone has done to clear a parking space.

The City did not shovel out the space.

So, what?! Be patient and EAT IT!

I feel if one has taken the time, trouble and labor and others have not,
they are not entitled to hijack that space JUST because the City owns it.
It is a matter of common courtesy during a difficult situation.  This will
get better.

I feel that I would ask the next imbecile who blocks my driveway where THEY
live and PERSONALLY block the hallway outside of their door with my body
because they only lease the area within.  I only say this because this
knave, rogue, blackguard (pick one) was obviously a young brat.

So sue me!

Green Line Guys if you should read this, since you apparently know that
customer/neighborhood relations begat good business revenue; "Green Line
Three" sounds good to me.

Very Cordially,

Wilma

Re: [UC] Parking Rage: Bloody Hell!!!

[Benseraglio2]

In a message dated 2/4/2005 9:37:11 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
What is the matter with people?
Excellent question. The other night I was coming home from a long night of boozing, despite which my senses were keenly alert, fine-tuned to an A-sharp, sharp as a razor, likely due to the large quantities of methamphetamine which I had been imbibing along with my Old Overholt 40s down at the Conrad Grebel Bar and Grille. I maneuvered my Volva Sedan down 48th Street like the Millennium Falcon through the guts of the Death Star, neatly avoiding the pitbulls and Great Danes doing their business in the snowbanks. Arriving at my accustomed parking place I gently descended from hyperspace into a low hover when I perceived that some irksome neighborhood hooligan had staked out my personal space with several garbage cans, a vintage clawfoot bathtub, and what appeared to be an ancient Macintosh computer. 
 
Needless to say I was enraged. I had spent the previous weekend shovelling out my personal space after the worst blizzard of the season and my back was still aching from the effort. What to do?
 
I considered dialing 911 on my cellular phone, or perhaps the Friends of Clark Park, or even my good friend Shaka Zulu the mayor. But I quickly reconsidered. From previous experience I knew the police would take several months to respond, the FOCP was locked in an interminable battle over the issue of constructing a gigantic private bathhouse in the Park, and the Mayor, an Adventist, was likely preparing his Sunday School lesson for the following day of worship.
 
Against my better judgement, I whipped out my trusty Bulgarian Shipka 88 submachine gun and blasted away until the loathsome debris was pulverized to smithereens and my personal parking space was clear. I was performing the elegant horizontal parallel parking maneuver known in some circles as the Bavarian Cakewalk, in others as the Viennese Oyster, when suddenly an elderly woman of a certain age hove into view driving a fire-engine-red '87 Camarro with Jersey tags and darted lickedy split into my space.
 
"Hell's bells, lady!" I ejaculated, but she merely looked at me smugly, got out of her vehicle, locked the door and began to totter down the street. 
 
"Yo old woman!" I shouted after her, in a fine frenzy. "Have you taken leave of your senses? Are you not aware that I have spent several years cultivating this parking space with finely manicured bonsai trees at the curbside, fine herbs in the summer, which I take great pains to water and prune, and that I have just finished excavating it from the great blizzard? Bloody hell, woman, and forsooth! Shall I not blow you away from the face of the earth with my trusty Bulgarian Shipka???"
 
Unfazed the elderly damozel pointed to a sign on the dashboard of her car. Emblazoned in large purple letters was the word "Clergy." 
 
"I'm on a mission from God," she said in a calm and dignified voice. "I have prepared a bomb which will blow the Presbyterians to kingdom come, and I am now on my way to plant it smackdab in the midst of the presbytery before the vicar comes by to dust down the church in preparation for this weekend's worship."
 
"Oh well, then by all means proceed," I said, mollified, for I knew that the foul plague of Calvinism which had spread its stench over the neighborhood was becoming too hot to handle. "Prithee, may I assist you in any way?"
 
"I'll be quite alright, young man," she said. "And judging from your boozy breath and general air of dishevelment, what you need now is a nice cup of hot chocolate and then to bed."
 
She's probably right, I reflected. I plopped the Volva down on the nearest available snowbank and headed for bed, suddenly exhausted by the events of the evening and an outsurge of adrenalin which left me weak, craving and wanting to holler for mama.
 
 

Ross Benderhttp://rossbender.org/dingirs.html