Parking Lot Conflict, a Missed Opportunity

While on a recent quick trip attempt to a nameless mega store, my parking mojo was in full gear and I happened upon a car pulling out of the coveted “closest to the store spot” at the end of the parking aisle. I pulled up, put on my signal and waited while the car finished pulling out. I zipped into the space with a grin feeling like maybe I’ll catch a non line at the checkout too! I get out of my car and a man in shades has stopped his SUV and is staring at me the way I stare at kids when they have committed something heinous in my classroom. I’m in a hurry so I just keep going. The stare continues (I mean he’s trying to be intimidating and everything, it was almost cute) so I give the guy a WTF look and he says, “I Had Dibs On That Spot Man”. I opened my mouth to say something, but kept my focus and entered the nameless mega store for a new remote, pictures and milk that I had been sent there for by Mrs. S.

It wasn’t until I was well into the store that I began to process what had just happened. “The dude stepped to me over a parking spot!” “Did he really say “dibs”? “Damn, the things I could have said/done at that moment if I was a much cooler cat than I am.”

I could have:

• Asked if he really wanted to go with “dibs” or would he like another shot at it.
• Told him I wasn’t really feeling his anger and he should find another way to express it to get my true attention.
• Said that I would love to accommodate him but officially anyone over the age of 10 can’t use or respond to the word “dibs” without losing their parking privileges in all nameless mega store parking lots.
• Broken down into a sobbing fit and crawled to him begging for his forgiveness in this and all other of my sins.
• Without a word walked over pulled him through his car window and stomped on him a bit…grrrrrrr.
• Simply said "nuh, huh I called it first!"
  

Maybe, if I was a MUCH cooler cat I would have stopped obsessing about the incident five minutes after it happened and I wouldn’t be writing this at all. Screw it, next time I’m escalating the situation just to see what might happen. Man I’m a good example for my students.