OT: My Life, a Seinfeld Episode
The Seinfeld episode, The Parking Space (script), is infamous. Many people, even those who don't watch the show often, have seen it. While it exaggerates a problematic situation (lack of parking), it highlights a true problem - just what are the rules of parking.
A case is point occurred when I returned home this evening. As I cruised down the block, I found a spot, with a car double parked about a car-length in front of it. The car had it's right-blinker on, but wasn't moving. I idled behind the car, waiting to determine if it was just double parked (with a dead hazard light on the left), or actually parking. After a healthy length of time passed and the car didn't move, I pulled forward a bit, and began backing into the spot. As I did this, the horn-honking began, and continued until I gave up my pursuit and pulled next to the car. I wasn't that interested in the spot - it wasn't particularly close to my apartment, and there were other spots, it was just the first that I had come across. (Keep this in mind as you read on.) When I was directly next to his car, I rolled down my window as he did his. Presented for your viewing pleasure, a recreation of the exchange that followed:
Me: What's the problem?
Him: That's my spot! I've got my blinker on! Didn't you see my blinker!
Me: Well, if you were going to park, why didn't you park?
Him: It doesn't matter! As long as my blinker is on, it's my spot!
Me: What were you waiting for? What, were you reading a book?
Him: It doesn't matter what I was doing! As long as my blinker is on, it's my spot! I could wait here two hours, but as long as I've got my blinker on, it'd still be my spot!
Me: Why are you pulled up so far past the spot?
Him: I've got my blinker on! It's my spot!
At this point, it was clear that he was irrational, and interested in the spot. In my relaxed and rational state of mind, I moved on to another spot, just up the block, amused at the ridiculousness of others.