The Deleted Scenes - Parking Anxiety
Last time I was back in Flemington, I met a friend in town. As we walked down Main Street, he pointed to a popular spot, the Shaker Café. He told me he and his dad just tried it recently, while his mom was out. It was a little difficult to find parking on a busy weekend, but they eventually got a spot and had a nice breakfast. Then his dad called his mom, and the first thing he said was something like, “We had a hell of a time finding a parking spot.” My friend thought that was interesting. That nice father-son breakfast at a new (to them) place in town wasn’t enough to erase the frustration of waiting a few minutes for a parking spot. That made me think of myself. When I’m at a store or restaurant and the lot is (or looks) full, I almost immediately get this panicked feeling. What if I can’t find a spot at all? Of course, it might take, at most, five minutes before a spot opens up. Yet that feeling of being stuck in your car with nowhere to put it is almost intolerable, at a level below consciousness. It feels as though someone is unjustly taking something away from you. It kind of reminds me of that snarky saying, “Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.” But it does, because I need it. The kind of anger a situation like this can spark is unreasonable, but entirely genuine. Sometimes, when a parking lot is full, I find myself muttering something like “What’s going on here?” As if there’s something unusual or even vaguely suspicious about a parking lot being full. It reminds of something I saw someone point out on Twitter once. Cyclists love seeing other cyclists, but motorists hate seeing other motorists. I’ve thought about this before. What is it about the car that seems to bend us towards paranoia, self-containment, entitlement, and rage? Is it that cars are expensive, and one feels it necessary to get one’s money’s worth? Is it that they’re powerful? I think the latter might be more explanatory. I wrote, in a document where I keep little writing notes, “Frustration is the gap between possibility and reality.” The car presents so many possibilities, but reality impinges on most of them. Perhaps it is simply inevitable that a tool so absurdly overpowered for most of its normal tasks will screw with our psychology. I remember a parody commercial I saw once, depicting a bunch of absurdly implemented tasks: smashing a table with an ax to kill a fly, boiling coffee with a flamethrower, etc. And then at the end, a guy placing a half-gallon of milk in the back of a pickup truck. I thought it was silly when I first saw it. Now I think it might be profound. Related Reading Taking Off the Car Blinders, Opening Your World Thank you for reading! Please consider upgrading to a paid subscription to help support this newsletter. You’ll get a weekly subscribers-only post, plus full access to the archive: over 500 posts and growing. And you’ll help ensure more material like this! You're currently a free subscriber to The Deleted Scenes. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription. |
Key phrases
Older messages
Holy Living
Wednesday, February 1, 2023
What Do You Think You're Looking At? #95
Pull To Inflate
Tuesday, January 31, 2023
Lighthearted and serious thoughts on inflation, expenses, and housing
New Construction Blues, Northern Virginia Edition
Monday, January 30, 2023
What does 2.5 mil buy you in Fairfax County?
Digital Hoarding
Saturday, January 28, 2023
When your brain and reality clash
Pull To Inflate
Friday, January 27, 2023
Lighthearted and serious thoughts on inflation, expenses, and housing
You Might Also Like
Kourtney Kardashian Wore The Ultimate 45th Birthday Bikini & WOW
Thursday, April 25, 2024
Vintage Dior, of course.
Should You Use 'Debt Avalanche' or 'Debt Snowball' to Pay Off Debt?
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
You Can Check a Car's VIN History for Free. These are two well-established methods that can help you systematically pay off your debts, but how do you decide which approach is right for your uni
Olivia Rodrigo Wore A Bikini With Converse Like A Pop-Punk Princess
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Plus, 7 time Rory Gilmore wasn't a girls girl, summer's biggest skin care trend, & more.
How Close to Death Must a Person Be to Get an Abortion?
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
What's new today on the Cut — covering style, self, culture, and power, plus interviews, profiles, columns, and commentary from our editors. Brand Logo WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24 LIFE AFTER ROE How Close
This Needs Something
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Listen now (19 mins) | Wrapping up the taste & flavour conversation ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
What would a TikTok ban mean for the food world?
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
What to do with fiddlehead ferns
"Whispering, wistful showers of Spring"
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
April 24, 2024 poetry & the creative mind Calling all poetry lovers! Join us as we celebrate the power of the word at Poetry & the Creative Mind, the Academy's virtual benefit featuring
WIN $25,000 & make your dream home a reality!
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Dream Home $25000 Sweepstakes
Butchered Literature
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
What Do You Think You're Looking At? #159 ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
patisserie
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
on spontaneity ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏