4 Feet, People!!!!

Oh lordy lou, I'm irritated.

I live very close to Miller Park (FKA: County Stadium), home of the Milwaukee Brewers. I've lived in Milwaukee all my life. The Brewers and I go way back. I'm not what you'd call a fan, but it is fun to go to the park and watch a game.

I'm not extremely close, but within walking distance. I would say it would take an average person maybe 20-25 minutes to walk from my house to the stadium, not counting how long it takes for a person to actually get situated once they're there.

Not sure how familiar anybody here is with the stadium, but they've got parking from here to Sunday and then some. I think general parking is maybe $8, elite (or whatever it's called) is more, maybe $12. But if you've got more than one person in your car it's not a bad price, and it's sort of fun milling around the parking lot to begin with.

So, it never ceases to amaze me the number of people who are willing to park on my street and actually walk to the stadium. It's sort of like Las Vegas in a way. The stadium is so huge that you don't realize how far it actually is. But every home game there are people driving around, looking for spots, trying to fit their cars in ridiculous places.

And many, many of these people, the late comers, have little or no regard for the people who live there. Yesterday my driveway was parked in. I've checked (as have all my neighbors), the legal distance a car should be parked from a driveway is 4 feet. I'd say I'm lucky to get 4 inches. We've even been nice enough to paint a yellow line on our curb to help these poor souls park their cars. Both cars that were on either side of my driveway were parked a few inches IN my driveway. They didn't even ATTEMPT to park somewhere legally. Sure, they left me enough room to actually get in and out, but do you have ANY idea how hard it is to see down your block when you're sandwiched in like that?

And what really, really got me is, these were both brand-spanking new cars. One was an Infiniti, the other was some sort of American-made sedan. So...couldn't you guys (while I haven't studied this scientifically per se, it's just 11 years of experience, they're inevitably guys) just please pay the $8 and park in the lot? Do you seriously have to make it a crap shoot whether I'm going to get out of my driveway alive so that you can save yourself a little money?

But no amigos, EVERY SINGLE GAME, it's the same damn thing. There aren't enough parking police to keep up. And yesterday they went down the opposite side of the street and ticketed, but not on my side, so the nimrods who parked me in got off scott free.

Of course, they're not always so lucky, and I cannot TELL you the amount of satisfaction it gives me to see a car ticketed who has been so thoughtless, stupid and selfish to park me in. What they saved by parking there will now be spent 3 fold (or whatever the going rate is for that particular violation, and I don't think it's cheap) paying the county. Yay!

I feel really badly when folks on my block have something planned, a party or picnic, and there's nowhere for their friends to park. Can you imagine having to plan a party based on whether or not the Brewers are in town? Of course, it's a city street and people are allowed to park there, so we can't really complain. It's just unfortunate.

I can tell you in all honesty that I have never done to another person what these people have done. I've never received a parking ticket in my entire life. I'm excessively careful, even moreso since I moved to where I am, because I completely understand the reasoning behind leaving 4 feet. I'm not perfect, but I could tell these people to go to hell (and believe me, it's tempting) without one ounce of thought that I'd ever be accused of the same thing.

And in case you're wondering, they aren't parking near me because the lots are full. No siree. They're parking near me to try and save a few bucks. I'm all for being thrifty, but not at the expense of someone's safety, or the law for that matter.

When the All Star game was here several years ago, I guess my block was pandemonium. I wouldn't know. I was deliberately on vacation!