MySpace

Those who know me know that I am generally easy-going, that I sail along on an even keel, I take life as it comes, turn problems into opportunities and generally try not to make waves unless waves are what is actually needed. Yes I have a good collection of expletives at hand, but I usually find them awkward to use and generally too imprecise for the situation. I have peeves, but many years have taught me that for the most part peeving is more trouble than it's worth.

One thing that does get under my skin from time to time is inconsideration. Bad design happens when designers implement their preferences without considering the actual needs of the user. Rude behavior is not considering your effect on those around you. Tourists who expect everyplace to work the same as the place they came from, only better, are inconsiderate. Not trying to follow the so-called Golden Rule is often inconsiderate. Et cetera.

A week ago my favorite niece and her family came for a visit - the first in a score of years. As I usually do when we are expecting visitors, I parked back away from our front walk so that our visitors can park conveniently close.

First I should describe what you can't see in the photos: There are only four lots, two on each side of the short block where we live, and only two of the four actually face onto what is a relatively wide residential street - ours and the one at the other end on the other side. The only vehicles that regularly park overnight or even for more than a few hours are ours, the aging but still operational VW bus of the neighbor who lives across from us on the too-narrow side street, and an occasional extra car of a guest staying at Ada's Place. We usually park near our walk and the others usually park on the other side of the street or on our side but by the lot that does not face the street. In short they follow the unwritten rules that apply everywhere except in an urban area where parking is scarce: you park in front of someone's house only if you are visiting them or if there are no other places near or across from the place you are visiting.

Back to the story - we're parked back away from our usual spot. Lora comes and goes, parking conveniently close to our walk as planned. We don't move our car for a couple days after they leave because in Q-topia almost everything important is within walking distance. Then a car parks in the spot by our walk - a nice shiny new high-end Saturn; and it stays there for several days, never moved, never anyone around. Saturday morning it disappears. Again we don't move ours. Sunday the pictured old Mazda appears in the same space, My Space! It is still there, unmoving, unapproached, definitely inconsiderate!

Oh well. Maybe the eastern Europeans (many Romanians) who generate the most hits on this URL as they Google for the artist who goes by 2na will enhance the photo, read the license plate, and take appropriate action (it would be inconsiderate for me to take any action). [Chali 2na, Comin' Thru]