As I drove into the Cell Lot on this particular afternoon, the first thing I noticed were all the cars in front of me making a hard right around something - as if they were trying to miss a pothole or some type of road kill. As I approached the scene I realized that the culprit was and elderly woman (I am trying to keep it polite as I am getting older too) in a dark blue honda van who had barely pulled into the parking space and stopped .... in other words most of her vehicle (did I mention it was a van?) was sticking out into the common drive-through lane - a serious violation of Cell Lot visitors' parking regulations. Lady, may I suggest that you take a remedial class in parking 101? Even better was the look on each driver's face as they struggled to drive around her. It was a pure candid camera moment. And speaking of violations, to the guy in the red Pontiac van - there is a definite way to enter and exit! Going out the in only screws everybody else up - gotta go with the flow. Must be something with those van drivers.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the man in the dark red Denali who (with his son) asked me if I wanted to hop in and watch Nemo with them! That was an unsual pick up line I thought, but did consider it for oh, a nanosecond because I happen to like Ellen DeGeneres as Nemo. I told him I was going to start a blog about all of this insanity and he politely held up his Blackberry and exclaimed "I'm in"! Great, I thought - my first follower. No love connection, but a follower - I will take it.
Now I mentioned our furry friends on my previous post. Dogs go with us most everywhere these days and the Indy Cell Lot is no exception. On this particular day I met a Boxer with a bandaged leg and a huge bowl of water (thoughtful person) and a little black dog named Jugs who had no pedigree but a big personality! I couldn't help thinking how much more they would enjoy their excursion if they had a little area to run around in and smell or eat something new. You know dogs - they have no shame. They are just happy to be alive. I encourage everyone to bring their dog - the start up conversation possibilities are endless.
A few more observations on this particular visit: A women screaming 'hello' into the phone while her window was down - (good lord - just buy a car charger - they do wonders for a low battery); two old timers in overalls settling the problems of the world while sitting on their pick ups (probably debating the price of this year's corn crop); various nappers, readers, walkers and smokers (note to airport - smokers need a place for their butts) and drivers jockeying for the top parking spots. I wasn't really aware that there are top spots in the Indy Cell Lot, but now that I am thinking about it, there probably are depending on your point of view.
And last but certainly not least, I had the occasion to park by a veteran. I know this because he had it on his tee shirt, and I am certain he wasn't the type of guy who'd wear a shirt like that unless he was proud of his service to our country. He was in and out of his SUV a lot and when he finally got 'the call', he looked at me and smiled and wished me a good day. I did the same, but as he drove away - I wished I had said "thank you" as well. Maybe I will get the opportunity to do that one day, but until then - to the veteran in the brown Chevy SUV which proudly displayed Old Glory and a host of other patriotic stickers - 'thank you'. Our chance encounter wasn't humorous, but it was definitely memorable.
