Special Snowflake Stories

[Iris]

In my experience 10 minutes is also nothing for trains, they usually manage to make it up if there's a decent distance to go, depending on other traffic of course. Here people are only asked if they have a connection they will miss if the train is late.

I'm not sure why he asked, although Long Train did travel through some fairly rural areas and it is entirely possible that the local buses would be timetabled to meet the trains. Of course, knowing that line the guard probably would have radioed the bus company to sort it out...

[Adelaide]

Jimmy John's delivery guy just called me in a huff and said "Hey, can you come down to the lobby and get your food?" Yeah, sorry you're 15 minutes earlier than the time I requested and had printed in bold on my ticket, but that's not my problem. He just seemed so put out on the phone, and after I raced down to the lobby so I wouldn't keep him waiting, I had to stand there for at least 2 minutes. He wasn't even at the building yet.

[VorFemme]

I ended up at the air pump today (low tire pressure). 

The pump is in the corne of the gas station parking lot - cement curb & landscaping to the left & behind it - so only ONE parking space can really use it - the one in front of it.  The one to the right is marked for handicapped use only.  The hose is not long enough to reach past the second parking space (handicapped).  To the left of the curb to the left is a travel lane - so only TWO parking spaces are in reach of the hose and one of those is handicapped only.

Some SS had parked their vehicle in front of the air pump instead of in one of the ten or fourteen parking spaces on the rigt side of the handicapped parking space.

Air pump slot/ handicapped slot/ LOTS of empty parking space.

All four of my tires were 20-25% low - so I parked in the handicapped slot - aired them up - then left a note on the SS Pump Blocker's vehicle asking that they PLEASE not block access to the air pump in the future & signed it "person with four tires who needed the pump".

I did not let Snarky & Evil out to let the air out of their tires...although they tried to talk me into it.

[PastryGoddess]

Oh VorFemme, you are a much much better person than me.

[Ereine]

I'm not sure if they were actually special snowflakes or just annoying (and maybe they had some good hidden reason though they appeared to have no problems with mobility) but I don't think that a very full bus (so that people have to stand) is the place to transport a bicycle, especially if it involves only travelling maybe 500 meters (and if they walked they could have taken a short cut), arguing with an old lady with a walker and some other passengers and passive aggressive sighing and counting to ten in a loud voice (to show how she was trying to calm her anger). She was also commenting to her companion about how it's always so difficult in Finland (the companion was a foreigner). With a little better attitude she might find things easier.

[ThatGirl]

Oooh, all the plane/medical emergency ones reminded me of this - it was about 15 years ago but still makes me annoyed.

I was a Saturday girl in a 2-floor clothing shop (any UK Ehellions remember Etam/Tammy Girl?) and was working on the ground floor when our manager let us know that there was a medical emergency on the upper floor - a pregnant customer had, very sadly, begun to miscarry her baby in the fitting rooms. She was obviously hugely distressed and in pain, and an ambulance had been called. The store manager asked me and another staff member to clear racks to one side to make a clear run for the paramedics and to guide customers towards the other end of the shop for a short time until the lady had been assessed and taken to hospital.

I have never, either before or since, encountered such ghoulish and entitled people. We were being as polite as possible, bearing in mind the time constraints and amount of tasks to be carried out, and fortunately the shop wasn't too busy so moving the racks didn't create too much of an issue. However, a group of 3 or 4 customers became quite aerated when I asked them if they would mind moving away to allow the paramedics through and started to insist that they wouldn't be in the way, they had important shopping to get on with, and what could possibly be so wrong anyway? My final straw came when a woman basically pushed around me to peer at this poor lady being wheeled from the shop wrapped in blankets and announced loudly 'What's wrong with her then?' I really hope that none of them never had to suffer a horrible experience in such a public place and be treated like a sideshow for passersby.

[MyFamily]

I heard the tale-end of this story on the radio this morning, so I don't know the original source.  At airports (all or some, I don't know), people in wheelchairs have a special line that is much faster than the regular line because there are less people in it.  I'm guessing the special line is because the TSA agents need to be specially trained on doing a security check on someone in a wheelchair.  According to the dj's on the radio this morning, there are people who are claiming that they need wheelchair assistance at airports so they can go through the line, but they are lying about their need for assistance.  They specifically mentioned a story of a woman who was in a wheelchair, got fast-tracked through the security line and then after got out of her wheelchair, grabbed two heavy bags and walked off.  I personally view people like that the same as I view people who park in handicapped spots when they don't need to, and I pray that karma doesn't come back and bite them in the tush and truly put them in that position.

[ladyknight1]

I heard the tale-end of this story on the radio this morning, so I don't know the original source.  At airports (all or some, I don't know), people in wheelchairs have a special line that is much faster than the regular line because there are less people in it.  I'm guessing the special line is because the TSA agents need to be specially trained on doing a security check on someone in a wheelchair.  According to the dj's on the radio this morning, there are people who are claiming that they need wheelchair assistance at airports so they can go through the line, but they are lying about their need for assistance.  They specifically mentioned a story of a woman who was in a wheelchair, got fast-tracked through the security line and then after got out of her wheelchair, grabbed two heavy bags and walked off.  I personally view people like that the same as I view people who park in handicapped spots when they don't need to, and I pray that karma doesn't come back and bite them in the tush and truly put them in that position.

I (and whoever is traveling with me) use the disabled access because I use a walking stick and have more than the average amount of medications/durable medical equipment all of which requires special screening. I am usually the only person in that line when traveling, and we just came back from a two week trip.

It is quite ridiculous to fake needing that line, as the only thing it saves you is turning in the regular queue lines. You still wait with the remainder of the people.

[ladyknight1]

Oooh, all the plane/medical emergency ones reminded me of this - it was about 15 years ago but still makes me annoyed.

I was a Saturday girl in a 2-floor clothing shop (any UK Ehellions remember Etam/Tammy Girl?) and was working on the ground floor when our manager let us know that there was a medical emergency on the upper floor - a pregnant customer had, very sadly, begun to miscarry her baby in the fitting rooms. She was obviously hugely distressed and in pain, and an ambulance had been called. The store manager asked me and another staff member to clear racks to one side to make a clear run for the paramedics and to guide customers towards the other end of the shop for a short time until the lady had been assessed and taken to hospital.

I have never, either before or since, encountered such ghoulish and entitled people. We were being as polite as possible, bearing in mind the time constraints and amount of tasks to be carried out, and fortunately the shop wasn't too busy so moving the racks didn't create too much of an issue. However, a group of 3 or 4 customers became quite aerated when I asked them if they would mind moving away to allow the paramedics through and started to insist that they wouldn't be in the way, they had important shopping to get on with, and what could possibly be so wrong anyway? My final straw came when a woman basically pushed around me to peer at this poor lady being wheeled from the shop wrapped in blankets and announced loudly 'What's wrong with her then?' I really hope that none of them never had to suffer a horrible experience in such a public place and be treated like a sideshow for passersby.

How horrible for the lady in question. I am astonished by people's reactions to real crises in life.

[Elfmama]

I (and whoever is traveling with me) use the disabled access because I use a walking stick and have more than the average amount of medications/durable medical equipment all of which requires special screening. I am usually the only person in that line when traveling, and we just came back from a two week trip.

It is quite ridiculous to fake needing that line, as the only thing it saves you is turning in the regular queue lines. You still wait with the remainder of the people.

I also carry durable medical equipment (a CPAP machine), have a lot of meds, and use a cane, and I've never noticed that there WAS a handicapped line at airport security!    Regular screening has never once blinked at any of it. They don't bother to look at the pill bottles in my carryon.  Sometimes they take the CPAP aside for other testing, but that's all, and not every airport security will do even that.

[ladyknight1]

I have sharps, and vials of injectible medication, so I looked at the TSA website and found out about the other lane. I don't want to hold up other people.

[renfield1969]

I heard the tale-end of this story on the radio this morning, so I don't know the original source.  At airports (all or some, I don't know), people in wheelchairs have a special line that is much faster than the regular line because there are less people in it.  I'm guessing the special line is because the TSA agents need to be specially trained on doing a security check on someone in a wheelchair.  According to the dj's on the radio this morning, there are people who are claiming that they need wheelchair assistance at airports so they can go through the line, but they are lying about their need for assistance.  They specifically mentioned a story of a woman who was in a wheelchair, got fast-tracked through the security line and then after got out of her wheelchair, grabbed two heavy bags and walked off.  I personally view people like that the same as I view people who park in handicapped spots when they don't need to, and I pray that karma doesn't come back and bite them in the tush and truly put them in that position.

Why didn't the TSA agents stop her? She was still obviously in sight of them, and that certainly seems to be an exhibit of suspicious behavior. After going through in a wheelchair and then jumping up to rush off with two heavy bags, I'm surprised she wasn't tackled and brought to a pivate interview room for several hours of intense screening.

Of course, since we're hearing about this more than third hand, it could just as easily be a case where the person could walk but not stand for long stretches, so when she was done with security she got up, retrieved her purse and carry-on and walked to her gate.

[Slartibartfast]

Why didn't the TSA agents stop her? She was still obviously in sight of them, and that certainly seems to be an exhibit of suspicious behavior. After going through in a wheelchair and then jumping up to rush off with two heavy bags, I'm surprised she wasn't tackled and brought to a pivate interview room for several hours of intense screening.

Of course, since we're hearing about this more than third hand, it could just as easily be a case where the person could walk but not stand for long stretches, so when she was done with security she got up, retrieved her purse and carry-on and walked to her gate.

They're not allowed to ask - it's like people with service dogs.  Here's the NYT article about it.  Airline employees say they see a marked uptick in the number of wheelchair requests when the security lines are long, and the wheelchairs brought to meet passengers at the end of the flights end up unused because the passengers sit in wheelchairs to be first on the plane but don't want to wait to be the last off so they just walk off instead.  They also say it's only a small percentage of people who abuse the system like this, though.

[Christabeldreams]

We encountered a semi-special snowflake coming home from Cotillion one night. It came in the form of a big truck parked right in front of our driveway, presumably stopping by our neighbors house. Yes, it did have other parking options. We had to drive around the block till it was gone. to this day, I have no idea what it was there for or why the driver thought it was ok to fence people in/out like that.

[VorFemme]

Oh VorFemme, you are a much much better person than me.

Three reasons, well, maybe four.  Pick any combination.

The vehicle was parked where the gas station attendant could see it (might have been their vehicle). 

There was a security vehicle making the rounds.

I was brought up better & told that I had to set a good example.  Dang being the oldest child in the family - it still sticks 50 years later.

I didn't want to sink to BELOW the level of the person blocking the air pump.