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Honk all you like, if there is no room, there is no room!!!
Just the other day, I foolishly volunteered to pick my husband up from the Brisbane Airport. I say foolishly, as my friends will testify, I have absolutely no sense of direction and find driving anywhere off my beaten path, rather stressful, especially at night. But as I promised I would, I did.
To enhance my journey, I armed myself with a nice cup of coffee, and was promptly on my way. I have to say, I nailed the trip up there. The traffic flowed well, and I arrived at the short term parking area without a hitch. I sat there rather contentedly, waiting for the call.
In a matter of ten minutes, I was on my way out of the short term parking. That is when the night came undone. I could not get the machine to work!!! No matter how many times I tried to insert the parking ticket, the boom gate would not release me! Oh the mortification!! Seriously, how hard is it to work these things??
Anyway, after several attempts, and what seemed to be about twenty vehicles reversing from my lane and into the other, I had no other option but to reverse and retreat. To my great dismay, the next car to approach the same lane as I had been in previously, exited without any drama, whatsoever!! By this stage, I was about to abandon my vehicle and walk home!
Of course I didn’t. A few deep breaths later, and I was in the other lane, and guess what – the ticket worked. Naturally, it does only work if you insert the ticket in the right place!!!! Clearly bigger signage needs to be displayed. But that’s okay, I’m released and on my way.
Now laughing at my inability to operate the parking boom gate, I was quite content to follow the car in front of me, along to the pick-up area. That was until a rather irate and impatient bus driver began to beep incessantly at me. What was going on?? Apparently I was in the wrong lane, and so was the driver in front of me – thank you very much!! Anyway, the leader of my folly was able to slip into the right lane, leaving me bumbling along, in full view of everyone with my own personal beeping escort – there was no room to merge. And no matter how long or loudly you beeped, Mr Bus Driver, there was still no room!!! Mercifully, some kind-hearted driver decided I had suffered enough humiliation and let me merge.
Let’s just say, that by the time I had reached the pick-up point, and had let Mr Bus Driver know how unimpressed I was with him, I was in no mood for happy arrival scenes! It was a quick, ‘Hurry up and get in – I’ve had enough already!’
This whole experience reminds me totally of the plight of struggling readers. I have never met a child who does not want to read, and can only imagine the frustration and mortification that they must feel, when they see others cruising through the ‘boom gate’, well on their way to reading success. Such a plight is made even more excruciating, when well-meaning adults say, “Of course you know that word, sound it out, sound it out, sound it out!” – just like an incessant horn beeping in the background.
I’m sorry, Mr Bus Driver, if a child does not know the word, they do not know the word. Just tell them the word, and let them merge with the rest of the crowd.
Until next time,
Best wishes,
Katrina
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