You Parked Your Car Sideways

TAB's heart

The Amazing Bob and I had a follow up with his heart dude, Doc Drachman, at MGH yesterday.

Mass General is an extremely busy joint. There are three big parking garages for all us patient and visitor types AND there's a fluorescent suited fellow directing traffic. Getting a place for one’s heap can be a nerve wracking, iffy business.

Sure we could’ve taken the Red Line into town -- there’s a stop right across the street from the hospital BUT, if my Honey Pie’s not feeling as fine as a farting fiddle, well boyhowdy, I’m gonna drive him in. Of course.

So, back to the parking garage -- maybe this happens everywhere but I notice this most at MGH -- there is always and forever some huge SUV taking up two spaces.

I don’t get it. The spaces, the slots are certainly big enough and there’s adequate handicapped space for wheelchair folk so what up?

 Maybe the gas hog’s pilot is stressed to the max about their or their loved one’s health and just can’t manage this simple feat.

Are the big buggy drivers simply lacking all parking talent and skill? Mind you, this isn’t parallel parking -- I totes understand that can be challenging. No, this is the usual pull-in-you-win sort of set up.

Possibly they’re prize winningly huge narcissistic pricks -- so self involved that they miss the concept of, ya know, other sick people needing these precious, too few berths for their vehicles too. Do they, upon landing a spot just zoom off without checking the fit?

Who knows. Luckily, with the amazing Bix, I can squeeze into spots which were beyond me and my past junks.

One thing that came to mind yesterday, while there are still a mess of oversized pickups and SUVs on the road, I see far fewer mini vans and none of those vile insults to the planet -- yup, I’m talkin’ ‘bout Hummers.

 From the Hummer site:

Though no longer in production, the HUMMER H3 is proof positive that good things can come in small packages.

And Wikipedia:

The H3 and H3T truck were the smallest of the Hummer models and were based on the GMT355 platform shared with the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon compact pickup trucks.

Small being a profoundly relative term here.‘Small’ as compared to what? A semi? Moby Dick? An ocean liner maybe?

Also too -- what bright boy decided it was a brill marketing move to name a line of obscenely oversized, gas guzzling, behemoths after an AP level sex act? Sure, you lock in the testosterone-lite/insecurity-huge crew but the rest of us just aren’t that dim.

Looks like, despite ex-Governor Ah-nold's efforts, GM quit production in 2010. GOOD!

What’s up in Detroit now? There was a push for hybrids with the Chevy Volt and the Ford Fusion  There’s the new-ishTesla company’s all electric, snazzy Roadsters too.

From The Fiscal Times column on the recent Detroit Auto Show:

Automakers previewing vehicles at the show this year are concentrating more on conventional and high-performance gasoline models than on those run on alternative fuel.

Three steps forward and two back.

Prince and the Revolution -- Little Red Corvette