Photo: Dyan Titchnell / Here and Next
9 times out of 10... if you see a vehicle backing into a parking space, then pulling out slightly, to realign its tires in order to center itself within the spot's white, painted, parallel lines, chances are... you'll notice a man exiting the driver's side of the vehicle.
It's just an observation.
Women don't back up.
Nor do they back down.
But that's another issue for another time.
Normally, I don't pay much attention to who's parking what, or where, unless we're in the city, Philadelphia, where vacant parking spots are nowhere to be found.
But this 'observation thing' sprung from an incident.
An incident involving our vehicle.
Photo: Dyan Titchnell / Here and Next
It started with a lovely walk in the park, Alverthorpe Park, and ended with us in our vehicle ready to leave for our next destination: 'A Taste of Philly', a pretzel store in Glenside, to pick up 2 party trays of mini soft pretzels purchased as gifts, when, in shifting gears, we discovered our Chevy van... had no reverse! Not so lovely.
How does one drive a vehicle without the ability to back up?
My husband didn't seem overly concerned.
Our van, Bruce, soon to be 25 years old in May, could still go forward, and once the car parked in front of us left... we were able to drive through the now empty spot and head towards pretzel-land. Phew!
But upon arrival, where does one park without reverse?
Parallel parking is out, so too, are most lots with double rows of parking.
So we drove around, circling the area exploring all options without any luck, until finally, we chose to park... illegally... perpendicular to all the other vehicles, and hoped for the best.
Then with mission accomplished, party trays situated in our van, we headed home, only to discover mid-way... that our van... had no drive gear. No ability to move forward!
Luckily, after the engine cooled down a bit, we were able to make it back to our apartment complex, where we managed to pull head-first into our usual spot in the garage. A week later, with a new filter, change in transmission fluid and a few extras, our van was once again up and running. What a relief!
Photo: Dyan Titchnell / Here and Next
And it was this fixation over parking: parallel, angled, perpendicular, back and head 'in', that prompted me to observe the comings and goings of people parking their vehicles in our building's parking lot, which is clearly visible through our large picture windows from our 3rd floor apartment.
Once again, the results showed, at least in our complex, that when given the option, more men than women will choose to back into a parking spot.
Why? I can't say.
But here are 2 stories involving parking that I think you might find interesting:
6 years, 211 spots, Gareth Wild conquers a parking lot. Read it on Twitter here.
Italian car parked in same spot for 47 years here.
And Here's Something For After You've Left The Parking Lot.
The Playmates, 1958 here.
Beep, Beep For Now!
XOX... Dyan
At "Here and Next"
