Up North needs more Walmarts

Today, Priscilla took John and me to the blood-drawing place, preparatory to doctor appointments next week. For everybody who doesn’t know, John had his 60th birthday 16 days ago, but his mind never progressed past 6 or so.

Taking John anywhere is quite an enterprise. He uses a walker. His pace is near that of Tim Conway’s old man on the Carol Burnette Show – slower than slow.

Added to the enterprise, I have a right leg brace to make me take normal steps. My pace is faster than John’s, but not in the speedster range.

Added to that addition, Priscilla recently did something that caused pain in a foot, similar to a broken toe. Her pace has slowed somewhat during convalescence.

So … We park at the blood-drawing place, get John’s walker in position near the car door, get John standing and holding onto the walker. We move out – Priscila, followed by John doing the Tim Conway imitation, followed by me, with my cane providing balance.

We have to cross a parking lot street. And that is where I figured out that many people in Florida come from places that do not have a Walmart. At least the drivers never learned parking lot manners at a Walmart in Texas or Arkansas, where pedestrians have right of way over cars and trucks. Doesn’t matter if pedestrians stay in the marked walkways or not, everybody in a car at a Walmart in Texas and Arkansas knows people walking have right of way.

Here, not so much. Oh, you can step out in front of a slow moving car, but the likelihood of the car stopping is 60-40. The driver will go around you, or, seeing your intent, will speed up and get there first, in which case you will stop, rather than deliver a knee to a car door.

My assumption is, those drivers are from Northern climes, where reaching a point is more important than what happens between start place and the point.

What needs to happen is, Walmart should open more stores Up North and include experienced Texas and Arkansas drivers in the opening. We need to learn those people some manners.