Drivers in West Texas, we'll get to you in a second... First, let's start with PARKING LOT DESIGNERS AND BUILDERS who designed the lots in West Texas--we're talking to you. You've created havoc in the lives of the citizens of this great area daily when we attempt to park our vehicles. I'm not sure why those folks didn't keep in mind when building parking lots all throughout the Permian Basin--that EVERYONE HERE OWNS TRUCKS. I have yet to park somewhere that I don't practically need a can opener to either get out of my car after I've parked or almost need to borrow a couple of Marshallers from Midland International Airport to guide me out of a parking spot when I'm ready to leave.

MARSHALLERS:

And we can't forget to mention on any given weekend-the mall parking lots are a sheer joy to get thru when there are multiple trucks parked across from each other, making the aisles skinny to get thru. Bonus points if they have hitches on them that stick way out, too.

Many truck owners have started to back into parking spaces so that it's easier for them to leave by pulling forward and being able to see clearly, rather than fight trying to judge the tiny area they have to back out of using a dashboard camera for assistance. I think these parking lot designers and builders based measurements for the spaces on everyone owning a 1999 Geo Metro...

Not sure what, if anything, City Governments can do to make parking spaces a legal minimum width and length, and force these stores and malls to re-stripe their lots to make them safer and more accommodating to all their patrons, but this writer thinks it's certainly worth a conversation!

Then there are the folks who don't care when they park what trouble they cause for anyone else. Seeing that someone parked OVER THE LINE in their space-preventing anyone else from parking on that side of their vehicle is quite common in West Texas. Not knowing the person who owns this particular vehicle, or what may have been their motivation to park in this way, I am only left to guess a few different scenarios:

THEY WERE IN A HURRY.

Maybe their movie was close to its start time, so they "whipped" into the space and ran inside so they had a moment to get some popcorn before taking their seats. I mean what kind of jerk takes up two spots ON PURPOSE if you're not running late and have all the time in the world to park correctly, right?

THEY JUST BOUGHT THE TRUCK AND DIDN'T WANT IT 'DINGED' IN THE LOT

I get it. Trucks are EXPENSIVE. More costly than a good down payment on a house and in some cases about half as much as the full cost of a house, depending. So the last thing you wanna do is have your kid's college money invested into a vehicle that might possibly get a door opened against the paint job and scratched. Gotta make sure all of us careless folks running late don't whip in next to you and run in to get our popcorn.

THEY JUST DON'T CARE AND THINK THE WORLD REVOLVES AROUND THEM

Not EVERYONE who's elderly is handicapped and has a placard that allows them to park in a designated handicapped space. Not everyone who's dealing with a temporary injury like a broken foot/ankle/leg etc has a handicapped placard because it's not a permanent condition.

So to you--the person who did this--you left a perfectly good parking space right in the front row by the front doors of the theater--unable to be used because of your carelessness. The world needs to care about our fellow man and stop this whole "ME ME ME" syndrome that is largely present in younger folks these days. Next time--please think of others when you park-AND DO BETTER.