On The Record : Parking spaces for bikes; lines for wheelchairs
Posted on Wednesday, August 20, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/hl/Editorial/25374/
Ihave always loved motorcycles,
even as a child when the closest
I could come to one was using a wooden clothes pin to attach a playing card to the spokes of my bicycle. Thrrrruuuummmmmmmm... I even loved the people who own and ride motorcycles because I consider all of them a “ brother” of sorts when I ride my own machine down the highway and signal the obligatory wave as we pass in opposite directions. However, the passion for my motorcycle brethren has dropped a few notches recently after witnessing some poor choices made by local riders.
While riding my own machine recently to a local department store, I was shocked to see no fewer than four pretty motorcycles parked near the front of the store in the yellow lines that mark the no-parking area beside a handicapped spot.
No, those lines are not set aside for bikers to use because you either don’t want to walk across the lot like everyone else or don’t trust your fellow parkers to leave your ride unscratched.
Either way, these are poor excuses for dropping your kickstand on those yellow lines.
I know what those lines are for because my mother suffered for almost three years from the effects of Lou Gehrig’s disease before dying in the spring of 2007. She was confined to an electric wheelchair for the last year of her life, and relied on a wheelchair-accessible van to lower and raise her “ scooter. ”
Anyone who is fortunate to be healthy enough to ride a twowheeled machine should also be thankful they never have to tackle the frustration of moving to different parking spaces because someone stopped their ride on those yellow lines and a wheelchair-bound person had to go somewhere else. Yes, it takes a little longer to walk from the back of the lot, but walking is good for you and it beats the alternative of not being able to walk at all. If you are afraid of what might happen to your chrome beast while inside shopping for Twinkies, leave your wheels at home.
••• On a brighter note, a special thanks to everyone who has been asking if my family has FINALLY made it to Siloam Springs after more than three months.
Yes, we are together again and still unpacking everything. My daughter started classes at Southside Elementary School this week and is excited about her new surroundings.
My young son turned two years old on Monday and he has already discovered the wonderful parks that Siloam Springs has to offer. He spent the day endlessly going up and down the slides.
The funny thing about plastic outdoor slides is the strange ability to build up a static charge in just a short amount of time that could potentially be used to jump-start a 1967 Buick.
Our son is built like a bulldozer, so shocking his mother and himself by accident was simply hilarious to him
The humor for us was watching him walk around for 30 minutes afterward trying to shock the trees, our van, the cat and his big sister. My wife and I have already preplanned a block each week for us to meet with his first principal on a regular basis. Dennis the Menace can’t hold a candle to my Willie.
— Gary Burton is managing editor for the Siloam Springs Herald-Leader