words and emotions

Parking downtown isn't easy, but we have great metered parking on our side street. However, the city blocked four or five spots to make way for a trash dumpster and trucks and workers tearing up the space next door.

Last week, I was looking at the tag on one of the unusable meters.

It read, "The City of Grand Rapids Has Reserved This Space for: Quality Air."

"Quality Air?"

Immediately I started ranting inside my head about the loss of a great space and the underlying belief that eliminating one parking place is going to somehow save the city and the environment. People are going to drive, I reasoned, why waste a perfectly proximal space to my building?

Fireworks were blazing. I spewed to a few people about it.

Then, just now, on my short walk to drop a bill in the mail, a truck was parked in the space.

The side of the vehicle read, "Quality Air Heating/Cooling."

And I am a fool.