Honk You!

In the past few months there have been a few occasions when I was putting Orion in his car seat and someone would be trying to park next me. The driver would honk at me as if to say "Hurry the fuck up because I do not care about the safety of your child and my time is way more important and I know there are other spots where I could park but I want this spot".  This makes me so angry!!! Do not honk at me! Maybe my baby was asleep and you just woke him up and made him cry, does that make you feel good about yourself?  

I think, for me, part of being from Philly is always being ready for a fight and these encounters really make me want to go off.  Now that I have a child, I do not want him to see his mommy going off on a person screaming and cursing.  Nowadays, you never know where a confrontation could lead to and I would not want to risk bodily injury to myself or my child.  I have such a clear memory of my mother getting mugged and punched in the ear when I was a kid and I would rather my child not witness such an act whether the violence is physical or verbal.  "I learned it from watching you" is one of the classic lines from a public service announcement and it is totally true about so many things.  If your child sees you being an ass then chances are they will also act like an ass.

If you see me strapping my baby into his car seat, or into his stroller, or on to my chest with our Becco carrier, do not honk at me! You can either:

a) Be patient because it will only take 2 minutes
b) If you wait, maybe I will notice you and step aside 
c) Fuck off and park somewhere else

Honking at a person is just down right rude! Go stand next to your car and have someone honk the horn and hear how loud it sounds. You should use your horn for safety, like when you need to warn someone that they are about to smash into your car.  You can also honk your horn if the light has turned green and the car in front of you has failed to notice just try to wait at least 30 seconds.

Maybe we all need to take into account more bumper sticker wisdom like "Mean People Suck", "Don't be a Jerk", and "Choose Civility".  Obviously, these honking encounters really piss me off and no one needs that kind of stress. I am sure the person who honked that horn has long forgotten about the encounter and maybe they didn't realize the effect it would have but stop and think if that is how you would want to be treated.  Parking just a little further away will not kill you and it will not take much more of your precious time.  And just a quick note, for the love of god do not park or idle in a handicapped parking space unless you have a handicap parking permit. Those spots actually exist for people who need them, not just because your girlfriend is only running into target to buy an EPT.