Shock and Awe in the Parking Lot

I had been happily living under the delusion that our reputation for nastiness merely existed in the minds of prejudiced non-Long Islanders, who invented the stereotype out of jealousy of our happy, carefree island lifestyle. Or so I thought, until I pulled into the packed and busy parking lot of An...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe New York times
Main Author Lynda Nemeroff Bekore
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York, N.Y New York Times Company 31.08.2003
EditionLate Edition (East Coast)
Subjects
Automobile driving
Etiquette
Parking facilities
Long Island
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Summary:I had been happily living under the delusion that our reputation for nastiness merely existed in the minds of prejudiced non-Long Islanders, who invented the stereotype out of jealousy of our happy, carefree island lifestyle. Or so I thought, until I pulled into the packed and busy parking lot of Annie Sez, a discount women's clothing chain. Seeing that someone was backing out, I flicked on my blinker and waited. Sure enough, no sooner had the car backed out than another car (why is it always a Lexus?) smoothly pulled in, oblivious to my rather large vehicle with the glaring yellow blinker. We both entered Annie Sez a few moments later, in much better moods than when we began. I was feeling pretty pleased with myself and towards my fellow Long Islanders, when I spotted the perfect blouse, apparently the only one of its kind left. But for some reason, it just wouldn't come off the rack, no matter how hard I pulled. Looking up in frustration, I saw that my new parking lot friend had spotted it on the other side of the rack, and was pulling just as tenaciously in the opposite direction. For a split second we froze, combat reflexes locked and ready. Then we laughed, simultaneously relinquishing our grips on the hanger and silently conceding mutual surrender.
ISSN:0362-4331