My Expired Handicap Parking Permit

When I fell and broke my ankle in September of 2013 I never even thought of a handicap permit for close-in parking. It wasn't until my daughter and son-in-law suggested I should have one, because I had problems walking, that I applied for one.  I got one in November and found the convenience of parking near entrances a big help. The permit would expire in February of 2014.

I consider myself to be an honest person, yet, when I continued using the permit after the expiration date I had pangs of guilt. My thinking was that since I still had problems walking,  I could not walk any distance, I needed a mobile cart to sit in while I shopped, and I had a noticeable limp that it was okay to use the expired permit.

Sometimes, if I saw someone worse off than me, I felt a bit of remorse but not enough to park in a regular parking spot. For ten months I parked in handicapped parking using the expired permit. My great awakening came  in December when I traveled out of state and my car was left in a handicapped parking spot at the airport. When I returned from my trip, there was a ticket on my car.

While in California, I had seen notices that it was a $250 fine if anyone was caught parking in a handicap parking without a permit. I opened my envelope and was relieved it was only $150. It was still a lot of money but I paid it without arguing, even though I am still wheeled around in a wheelchair at the airport. I still have a limp and my ankle swells up and gives me pain so I thought I might fight the ticket by taking time to go to court or even returning to the doctor for another permit. After a brief debate with myself, I decided to pay the fine.

I made up my mind never to park in a handicapped spot unless I had a current permit and consider myself lucky for all the times I did park with an expired permit. Today I was at Costco and even though I had to walk through the crowded parking lot, I felt good, free and without guilt as I walked into the store!