The parking lot

It seems to me that most people will remain civil, or even polite, when out in public, except when it comes to a Wal-Mart parking lot. It amazes me sometimes just to watch people. A few months back when I was about 33 weeks pregnant I was very relieved that Alex found a parking space somewhat close to the doors. It had been a busy day and I was tired of walking, plus we were only running in to pick up a few groceries. He pulled into the space at the same time another woman spotted it. She seemed to be so angry that we got there first (without speeding or doing anything dangerous. We didn't even notice her until we were parked) that she sat in her car in the middle of the rows. When we got out of the car she started yelling at us -though we couldn't hear her, her windows were up- and making angry gestures...but there was a spot open a few cars down!

It seemed to be an isolated incident until a week or so ago. I still just have to shake my head thinking about it. Another busy day at Wal-Mart. Alex and I had just finished taking Jacob to a growth check appointment and stopped to pick up a few things. We found an empty parking space in the middle of a far row. Alex turned his car to pull in and a man with a cart, who was apparently completely oblivious, walked right in front of Alex and almost ran into us. Alex had to maneuver not to hit him and ended up being too crooked to pull into the parking space without hitting the curb. (You know, the curbs they put around the trees?) He started backing up and didn't see a suburban that was just coming towards us. When he noticed it he had only backed up a few inches, and he stopped to let the guy past. As it went by and Alex was finally able to park, I noticed the driver directing a crude finger gesture towards us out his window. I hadn't seen the driver, but I just chalked it up to an angry teenager wanting to show his rebellion. As we were walking inside I heard a very rude name being used in one row over, and other than noticing how frequently I hear foul language, I didn't think anything of it....until we got inside and were putting Jacob in the cart and an elderly man looked directly at Alex and called him another rude name. I was thoroughly confused and a bit shocked, and as we were shopping I asked Alex about it. He just shrugged and said it was the man who was driving the suburban, and mentioned that the man had already called him a name as we were walking towards the store.
The whole occurrence just left me dumbfounded! I wouldn't have been as surprised if Alex had actually done something wrong -or even rude- or if the man was many, many years younger. The fact that someone of his age would be so enraged and immature about something so trivial...it's just hard for me to comprehend. Later, just in passing, I mentioned to Alex that you have to wonder what other things are going on in his life for someone to be so angry and hateful to a complete stranger. I ended up just feeling sad for the man.

I'm thankful things like that haven't happened more often, but sometimes I still get discouraged at the lack of consideration for others. The many carts left in parking spots, the smokers standing right at the entrance with their lit cigarettes (something that bothers me even more now that I have a baby breathing it in) the people in the store too busy to simply move over to make more room for someone coming the other way.

And after that somewhat depressing sounding post, I think I'll have to write something cheerier very soon!