Chief of the 60s,
I know handicapped parking permits are abused. And many people don't have the permits simply park in the handicap spaces for convenience. My father-in-law was diagnosed with Multiple Schlerosis (MS) around 1975 or so, when he was 45. I met my wife in 1978, and watched him slowly lose the abilty to walk. The last time he walked was at our wedding, he was barely able to walk her down the aisle. She was barely able to keep him upright. During his early years with MS, there was no concerted effort to provide provisions for the disabled. In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities act greatly improved conditions for people like my father-in-law. It infuriated me to see what appeared to be healthy people parked in handicapped spots. Some had the placards or tags, and I suspected they belonged to someone else. Some just parked in the spots with no placard or tag.
My sister also has MS and is now in a wheel chair. Her and her husband bought a handicapped van. There have been numerous occasions where some moron parked in the area between handicapped spaces intended for use with wheel chair lifts. Most of the time these morons also didn't have the proper placard or tag.
I have a temporary handicapped permit that was issued to me for use after surgery. It is valid until October, and to date I have only used it once, and that was the day of my surgery. I got around just fine on my crutches, and there was no way I was going to occupy a handicapped spot when there might be someone who needs it more than I did.
Mary-Ann,
I wish you luck in your recovery. I watched my next door neighbor battle lukemia for probably the last six or seven years. I mowed his yard occasionally for a couple of years because he was unable to mow it. He survived but the battle took its toll. He sold his house a few months ago and downsized because he didn't have the stamina to take care of it any more.
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