The start of a learning curve
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (382104)
Rockingham, Australia
January 6, 2022 7:06pm CST
You might think I’m a bit thick after you’ve read this but, in my defence, it is a very long time since I lived in a city or even in suburbia. Things like paying for parking, negotiating parking areas, using ticket machines, adding funds to cards are not things I’m familiar with. Mostly we go everywhere together and my husband does all the buying of tickets, puzzling over instructions, etc.
When I took Vince to Emergency the other day, I wasn’t allowed into the building with him. I had parked in a ‘strictly 10 minute parking zone’. After 15 minutes waiting outside, I drove off to find somewhere to park.
Long story short, I drove into the staff car park thinking I could drive on the other side and head back towards the main carpark. There was a barrier which I thought would automatically raise when I approached but you needed a staff card. So I had to back up about 50 metres which I managed really well and then managed to find a bay on the roadside – free parking for an hour, just display a ticket on the dashboard. All good – I could manage that.
After another quite long wait, a doctor rang. I hadn’t taken my phone which was very stupid so I had Vince’s. He suggested I go home and wait for a phone call when they knew more. So I did. More next post.
.
27 people like this
26 responses
@wolfgirl569 (135745)
• Marion, Ohio
7 Jan 22
Nothing is easy anymore. Our hospital here has a parking lot that can be confusing. Some areas you have to circle to get in or out. Others are easy.
5 people like this
@wolfgirl569 (135745)
• Marion, Ohio
7 Jan 22
@JudyEv Glad you got things figured out there at least
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (174465)
• United States
7 Jan 22
When we don't do something regularly, it can easily become confusing, no matter who you are. Letting Vince do all that stuff for years on end worked against you...
4 people like this
@DaddyEvil (174465)
• United States
7 Jan 22
@JudyEv Yes, I'm sure you'll get it all figured out.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (153530)
• India
7 Jan 22
I can relate to that Moral of the story - be as independent as you can.
4 people like this
@allknowing (153530)
• India
7 Jan 22
@JudyEv One step at a time and you will be there.
2 people like this
@FourWalls (86707)
• United States
7 Jan 22
Even “living in the city” changes from city to city. I consider Louisville a pretty “big” city, but I have to shift into a completely different mode in places like Houston, Chicago, or Atlanta. Don’t think of yourself as “thick.” Think of it more along the lines of that song, “The Charms of the City Ain’t for Me.” 
Provided to YouTube by Sony Music EntertainmentThe Charms of the City Ain't for Me · Homer & JethroOoh, That's Corny? Originally released 1963. All rights re...
4 people like this
@BarBaraPrz (51819)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
7 Jan 22
That's one of the downfalls of having others do everything for you... you don't think of those things.
3 people like this
@allen0187 (59761)
• Philippines
7 Jan 22
Life gets more and more difficult everyday.
2 people like this
@kaylachan (84784)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
7 Jan 22
They shouldn't be so complicated. I hope you learn to eventually navigate it.
3 people like this
@RasmaSandra (98004)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
7 Jan 22
I think if you have to take someone to the emergency it would be best if you could stay around until you know what is happening instead of going home and then risking perhaps having to return, I do not know how it all works and I still have nightmares from my hospital experience four years ago when my stepdaughter and I brought my husband to the emergency and had to leave him there, I never saw him alive again so you know how I feel about that,
3 people like this
@xFiacre (14785)
• Ireland
7 Jan 22
@judyev Hospital parking is nightmarish and causes high blood pressure adding to doctors’ work load. I see from comments that Vince is at home and things are settling - that’s great. Same system here - my wife wasn’t allowed into emergency room with her elderly , blind aunt who had to sit waiting for 12 hours with nothing to eat. Eventually she got some antibiotics to chew on!!
2 people like this
@JudyEv (382104)
• Rockingham, Australia
7 Jan 22
That is just awful. Vince's treatment was top-rate throughout. That would have been just awful for the aunt. You'd think someone would have seen to her needs. 
@oahuwriter (26773)
• United States
7 Jan 22
You poor thing. It's all new to you, now. How is your husband?
2 people like this
@Fleura (35031)
• United Kingdom
7 Jan 22
I know what you mean. It's like being in a foreign country. Last time I tried to get a bus in London (which was several years ago already), I found I was supposed to have some sort of card, I couldn't just pay for a ticket in the 'normal' way. I couldn't buy the card on the bus it seemed, and I had no idea where to get one, or whether I had to buy a card first and then top it up with fares - which would be a waste of money if I was only going to use it once. And the bus driver spoke virtually no English so he wasn't able to explain it to me. In the end he just let me on as I was holding everyone up. But I still haven't found out the answer so on the few occasions I have been to London since I just walked everywhere.
1 person likes this
@just4him (323168)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
7 Jan 22
That's the one thing I hate about downtown Green Bay. It's all metered parking. Finding a parking spot is also in short supply. Thankfully, the hospitals are free, though you do need a ticket or at least the guy at the gate to press a button to lift the arm.
1 person likes this
@DocAndersen (54399)
• United States
7 Jan 22
That had to be stressful - sounds like you were resilient and fixed the issue!
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (382104)
• Rockingham, Australia
9 Jan 22
@sharonelton Thanks for your concern. It's good to have him home.
1 person likes this
@sharonelton (30756)
• Lichfield, England
9 Jan 22
@JudyEv Oh, thank goodness. I'm glad he's OK. Have a nice day.
1 person likes this
