Are You With The Parking People?

I was standing outside in the valet parking area waiting for the parking attendant to get my car. I had just finished my medical business at the hospital and it was time to be someplace else. A woman drove up, stopped her car in front of me, gathered flowers from the passenger seat and got out. She left the driver’s door open and engine running. All the while I was saying to myself, “I hope this lady don’t think I’m a car parking attendant.” But I could just tell by the way she was hurrying and glancing at me that something weird was about to happen. She walked over to where I was standing on the sidewalk, looked right at me and asked, “Are you with the parking people? She didn’t ask “Are you one of the parking people?” That would have been a too presumptuous on her part since I could have been a supervisor or something. Her demeanor said, “Come on buddy, don’t just stand there, I have some place to be, get a move on it, take my keys, give me a ticket and go park my car.”

Needless to say, I thought I was a far cry from looking like one of the casual looking parking lot attendants, but apparently she didn’t. Now understand, I was standing there dressed in a pair of tan and black Stacy Adams, black silk and wool dress pants, black turtle neck, a leather coat and with a palm pilot in my hand. But I think she missed all of that.

I was already a little agitated because the CAP scan had taken much longer than I expected. I had gotten turned around and came out the wrong entrance and I had been waiting for the attendant to get my car for over ten minutes. I gave the woman one of my most stern and agitated looks that said “You have got to be kidding, do I look like a parking attendant?” But she didn’t retreat. Then I gave her a look that said, “What gave me away?” She still didn’t get it. She proceeded to ask me whether she was suppose to leave her car right here or pull it up further to the valet parking sign and what should she do with her keys. Finally she took a good look at me, since I was making no attempt to park her car, and this look came over her face that said, “Oh shit, he doesn’t park cars.”

Earlier, a woman who looked like a salesperson came up to where I was standing. She looked at me trying to decide whether to ask if I knew anything about parking. She looked in the window of the valet parking office. I knew no one was there because I had already looked and that’s why I was waiting. She started to go inside the little office but the sign in the window that said, “Attendants Only” stopped.

She turned from the door and proceeded to form a line to my right. Now mind you, I had already formed the line. I was it and I was first. But now she was first in line. After 2-3 minutes she took out her cell phone, and walked back into the lobby. Sounded like she was telling some that getting her car was taking longer and she was going be late. Now I was first in line again.

After maintaining first place in line, and getting out of parking a woman’s car, a group of four ladies came over to where I was standing. They were all pulling those little cases with wheels. The kind look like catalog cases that salesperson carry. They were all talking about the day. There was an alpha woman leading the pack and you could tell she was the alpha because of the way the other three women related, catered and deferred to her. They laughed at what she said. The alpha woman looked at me, deciding if I was part of the parking attendant business. I could feel her eyes looking me up and down but I hadn’t made direct eye contact with any of them, yet. One of the foursome said, “That sign says ‘Attendants Only’ and I guess we better not go in there.” I said to myself, “Oh good they can read.” In the meantime the alpha woman said to the others, “The attendant must be getting his (meaning me) car, we’ll just wait our turn.” I said to myself, “Very smart alpha woman.”

Besides, I don’t know if I would of had time get their car, go back and get mine and still get to where I need to be on time.