Parallel Parking Girl to the Rescue!

For those of you who are not aware of my superhero powers, let me break it down for you: I am Parallel Parking Girl. I fly over the city and look for people who have parking, ahem, issues and I save the day by parking their cars for them. No need to thank me folks! All in a day's work!

I became aware of my superpower one day several years ago. I was living in Oakland and had driven to the gym. As I parallel-parked myself into a spot, I noticed the car in front of me was all crooked and crazy, like O.J. Simpson had parked it or something. I didn't think too much about this until the woman who was driving the car got out and, seeing my stellar parking job, asked me to park her car for her. I thought about this for a minute, and asked her if she was sure she trusted a complete stranger. She said yes. I asked her if car was an automatic. It was. (Sidenote: All superheroes have a weakness. Superman's was Kryptonite. Mine is manual transmissions). And so I parked her car quite nicely (if I do say so myself) and went on my merry way.

And Parallel Parking Girl was born.

Today I realized that I may have developed a second superpower: Sure-footedness. Allow me to explain.

It has recently snowed something like 26 inches 'round these parts. Poor sidewalk shoveling has left the sidewalks fairly treacherous, and curb cuts at intersections are virtually nonexistent. Going outside has become an adventure. Today while I was running (10 miles!) I came across an elderly woman who was standing at the corner of a busy street. She couldn't get over the snowbank between her and the sidewalk and she was afraid of falling. So I (and another person, briefly) helped her onto the sidewalk. And then she asked me plaintively to help her get to church, which was just up the street. I guess I looked sure-footed and helpful. So I decided to be sure-footed and helpful.

That's right: I helped an elderly woman get to church today. When we got there, she gave me a hug in spite of my sweaty shirt and wished me a Merry Christmas. And you know what? I really did feel like a superhero.

The problem, of course, is that I shouldn't need to have this superpower. As I've mentioned before, if people would do a better job shoveling their walkways, we could all just get along. And elderly women could safely get to church. And people who occupy wheelchairs could get around too.

So: Shame on all of you who who don't shovel your sidewalks or who only shovel a narrow passageway. You're on my list. (But if you are physically unable to shovel, you're still okay. Maybe shoveling will be my next superpower and I will come help you.)

In the meantime, I will just fly over the city and look for drivers and elderly women in need.