{{{{{{Kandi}}}}}   I am afraid I would not have been so diplomatic.  On one
of my bad days when someone said that to me, I looked them up and down and
said, "Funny, you don't look ignorant, either!"  Shut them right up.

DeeTee
________________________________
DeeTee and Bob Taggart
http://www.marykay.com/dtaggart3
http://mysite.verizon.net/vze8fwov/
________________________________

Telling the individual to 'shove his opinion up his a.s' would be my
initial response to anyone questioning me about parking in a
handicapped spot.

Then I might run over his bike as he crossed the parking lot just as a
reminder to not hassle the next person he wants to judge. <g>

Don't let one idiot get to you, Kandi. He's the one with the problem,
not you.

--
Kiyoshi - The reverse side also has a reverse side.

Truth is not what you want it to be.
It is what it is and you must bend
to its power or live a lie.

-- Miyamoto Musashi in "The Book of Five Rings",
  circa 1643AD as translated by D.E. Tarver

The guy sounds mentally unbalanced to me.  Accosting people in parking lots
is hardly normal behavior.  Neither is making personal comments to a
stranger.

Try not to let such unbalanced behavior get under you skin personally.

(I don't know where you live, but around here the bicycle in a store parking
lot would be a clue.)

I would also say something to the store manager about their patrons being
hassled in the parking lot.

Jo

Vent away, that is part of what we do. I like the responses of people who
suggested saying "You don't look stupid either." Of course we always think of
the best responses after the fact. And no, he certainly was NOT a gentleman, nor
will he ever be in my opinion.
---
Joan

((((Kandi))))

Telling him he didn't 'look stupid, either' would be my first response and
then, when he wouldn't leave, I'd be pulling my cell phone out to call the
police and invite them to have a chat with the 'gentleman' in question. His
harrassment of you was uncalled for and getting the phone out would have
done the trick, probably without having to actually make a call.

I'm so sorry this happened to you.

Kelly C.

We do understand Kandi....  We live in a cruel world with cruel people in
it.   We all deal with them in our own way and we can come here to talk
about it.
Harv

((((((((Kandi)))))))))))))

Been there and done that.  I used to take a copy of "Letter to Normals" and
now there is a new one "The invisible disability" that you can hand out to
people who say something like that.

However, it sounds like this guy was a jerk and a few flakes short of a full
box of cornflakes.  Sorry you went through this.

debbie m.
http://www.angelfire.com/ga2/angels1/

I had some imbecile say virtually the same thing to me
a few years back. Stupid idiot. I was out of the car at
the time. I said to him as loudly as possible:
Boy, sure would like to trade bodies with you then. You
can have the bad knee, bad ankle, dislocated thumb, 7
hand surgeries plus one on my foot, numerous cortisone
injections including two in my eye, and the list of
medications I am taking to keep me upright, walking and
out of a wheelchair would probably make you gag. So --
you want to trade?        Got a weak 'sorry' from the
a.s and applause from several others standing nearby.
Sure doesn't pay to piss me off.
While I am thinking of it, does your grocery store have
parking lot cameras? You could tell the management that
this man accosted you in the parking lot and you think
that security needs to be warned about him.
Duckie

With someone like that, tell him that if he has a problem to call
the store manager. If you have a cell phone, you could call the
manager yourself to complain about someone harassing you in the
parking lot.

Just remind yourself that his bad attitude is probably from erectile
dysfunction, from not being able to afford a car and having that hard
bicycle seat pressing on his tender areas.  <eg>

Some people won't be satisfied no matter what explanation you give
them, and have no idea that many people with emphysema, heart disease,
etc. can walk just fine but not very far without passing out.  Not all
disabilities are visible.  Most of the a**holes that would say
something like this guys did, are not worth the time it takes to
explain.  A quick cell phone call to the store manager, or police for
harrassment should take care of the problem.  I'm so sorry you were
treated this way.
Mag

What a colossal JERK!!  Honey, just try to not let him bother you.  I am not
sure, I would have handled the situation well, either.  I think I might have
just sat there and cried.

Try not to let it worry you.
Char

"Remember, I'm pulling for ya'. We're all in this together." Red Green

i appreciate all of your responses & especially your understanding!!! it
all happened with in a matter of seconds so i did not have time to make
a phone call (wish i would have had my cell phone out & not buried in my
purse) - but i now have some great responses if it happens again...and
unfortunately, it probably will...

i know i need to develop a thicker skin & not let some of this bother me
so much...but it is hard with all the crap going on in my life - this
was just like one more bean in that spill the beans game of life!!!

thank you all again.....

kandi

You never know what sort of nutball (that's one of my psychologist
terms) you're dealing with. In future, please pick up your mobile phone
(I advise anyone with a disability or chronic medical condition
requiring medication to have a prepaid mobile phone just for emergency
use) and call the local police. Tell them you're a person with a
disability that's being menaced by a strange man at a shopping centre
and you're afraid of getting out of your car. Bike-boy will think twice
after the police deal with him.

Vent, away!  You have good cause!

I have my own reply style.  I went to college in Ft Worth for 3 years.  
Discouraging drunks in Texas dives helped me perfect a cold, hard tone of
voice.  I would've turned on that voice and said, "on what do you base your
diagnosis?"  Well, that's what I would have said if I was thinking well
enough at the time to come up with it.  LOL  

But your guy sounds like a nutcase, not just a rude person.  It's probably
just as well you didn't say anything more to him, there's no teling when
you'll trigger someone's pent-up anger these days.  Heck, I accidentally did
it last fall.  I was getting out of the car in a parking lot.  Opened the
door so far, and when I let go it opened a couple of inches more, gently
tapping the car next to me.  No damage, no HINT of damage.  Just one of those
times when your door opens itself an inch or two more when you let go.  After
I'd walked past a couple of cars, this voice hollered a sarcastic, "thanks
for the door!@"  It was an older fellow who'd been sitting in the car.
Couldn't even figure out what he meant for a moment.  Then his
disproportional anger worried me so I just shrugged an apology and continued
walking into the building.  He shouted something else, I forget what but it
was nasty.  I kept walking.  I like being alive.

Fortunately, he was gone when I came back out. No signs that he'd done
anything "clever" like keying the car.  Got in the car and started to back
out and realized he'd come over and turned the rear view mirror so it was
facing the ground.  I had a bit of a chuckle at that display of pique.  Later
Mike discovered the fellow had also bent the top 3 inches or so of our
antenna at a right angle.  That left us both laughing and shaking our heads.  
I'm really glad I didn't confront the guy. I could have taken him, if need
be, but surely didn't want to and who knows what weapon he might have had in
the car?  The irony is htat our radio reception seems to have improved since
he bent the antenna!

Anyway, I digress into story telling, but my point is there's a time when one
needs to walk away from folks who are displaying irrattional anger.  Don't
risk yourself and your life.

what a scumbag.

the other night, i drove to starbucks and in the parking lot there was this
island with a sewer drain in it and i was so excited about getting my decaf
grande skim latte that i ran over it, making a huge loud thunking sound when i
came down on the other side. i pulled into the handicap spot. all the tables in
front of starbucks were full and all the men sitting there were staring at me,
open-mouthed, since i'd made such a spectacle of myself. i told them my
handicap was that i'm blind. i thought it was pretty funny, but none of them
laughed and then i realized they probably didn't understand my english (it's a
middle eastern male hangout at night). but it's a line i'll use again if need
be.

sorry you had such a crappy experience,

diane

((((((((kandi)))))))))  i'd have said, "thank you.  I work hard to look like
the rest of you jerks."  how dare he block you from getting out of your car!
that's when i would have laid on my horn and not stopped honking it until he
left the scene!  or until lots of people noticed him.  then i would have
reported him to the store manager immediately.  grrrrrr. . .

kate

it was probably a good thing i had forgotten my cane at home

Do you have a handicap tag or placard or whatever? Just curious,
because if you do not, then it would be illegal to park in a handicap
space. Regardless, the guy was a jerk for getting you so upset. Maybe
he didn't realize how much his comments affected you.

Unfortunately the most common misconception with handicap people is that they
need to be in a wheelchair.  I just found out that I have arthritis and I'm
26, I have it all the way up my back to my neck and my doctor said it's
pretty bad.  I'm a golf professional and I'm trying to pursue a career in
tournament golf but if I cannot walk 18 holes that dream is ruined so believe
me I'm pretty bitter towards my situation but in your situation some people
are just jerks and I know how you feel.  I had a serious leg infection 2
years ago and had to use a walker to get around because I couldn't apply
pressure to my left leg  for almost 6 months I would get stared at by kids
and people and they would ask what was wrong with me and it sucked because
I'm so young.
So I learned to zone them out.

screw stupid people and the dumb horse they rode in on!