Sunday, May 1, 2011

This makes me laugh

and remember when I drove a woman to a school meeting and she asked me why I had a handicapped placard in my car. I told her that my daughter was disabled due to severe epilepsy and the woman said, They give you a placard for that? Whether it was a testament to ignorance about the more severe forms of epilepsy or just gauche, I, being the weirdo that I am, wasn't insulted and exulted rather in the beauty of the anecdote. Because that's how people like me cope and, if we're lucky, fuel ourselves to write.

I saw this particular poster over at Maggie World and asked Maggie's mother where I could find it.

I think I'm going to order one.

10 comments:

  1. The cynicism of some people is just plain awful, Elizabeth. I'm glad you can laugh about it. Certaintly it says much more about them than it does about you.

    This post reminds me of the way some people talk about welfare recipients generally, as if they're all so-called 'dole bludgers'.

    Maybe they take this cynical attitude because of their own emotional impoverishment.

    In the words of Oscar Wilde:
    'The cynic knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.'

    Thanks for the reminder, Elizabeth.

    It;s a fantastic poster you've put up here, cycnicism that makex u lagh. thanks.

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  2. Love this, I totally want one of the posters. My husband and I say this to each other a lot as a joke, too. It's dark humour, I once wanted to get Snail a shirt that said "I'm not disabled, I'm just lazy" with the wheelchair sign under it. bwhahahahaha.

    And that comment sucks. This is why we all need poking sticks.

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  3. I don't have a handicapped parking tag for Katie but I do for my mum. I love this but I like some of the other stickers even better that you can attach to people's cars who park in the handicapped parking when they don't need to.

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  4. I despise it when people who do not have a handicap placard park in handicapped spaces so a few months back this ass in a truck drives up to the grocery store and hops out and goes in. No placard, totally able bodied and young. I was in a pissy PMS kind of way so I waited. When he came out this is how the conversation went...

    Me - Excuse me, did you need that handicap spot or are you just and asshole?

    Him - What?

    Me - Well it is obvious that you don' need the spot so I guess you are just an asshole right?

    Him- Whatever, bitch!

    Me - Excuse me? I am not the one doing anything wrong here so lets not try to change the subject. You shouldn't be parked here.

    Him- F you

    Me - *rolls eyes* Seriously, that is the best you can come up with?

    Me- Oh, by the way, this is a nice truck (sarcasm). Do you know what women say about men and their trucks? It goes, "Nice Truck, sorry about your" ...Google the rest you ass.

    And I walked away.

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  5. Elizabeth, in the last couple of years the handicapped parking sign at Waffle House in Buckhead has been amended with a box at the bottom that says "Violators will be smothered, covered and chunked"

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  6. You amaze me every single day. Your strength and compassion and my god your sense of humor. You are a remarkable person. Happy May Day.
    love,
    Rebecca

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  7. I love this! Ironic that you posted this today, the day that I finally printed out the application for the placard. I only need it for one specific situation right now but I still feel guilty about it. How is that?

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  8. And I, being someone who takes many things personally, would have chosen that opportunity to educate her thoroughly and probably give her such a guilt complex she would never have spoken to me again.

    Sigh. I like your approach better...

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