Kinky Parking Karma

/ roughwighting

https://pixabay.com/photos/parking-spot-cars-vehicles-traffic-825371/fillI never go to a mall during the holidays. I rarely go any other time either, but the month of December is decidedly off limits.

Except for today. It’s a few days after Christmas and I still haven’t bought “the” sweatshirt that my 15-year-old grandson wants.

It’s not a special sweatshirt.

It’s gray and loose, but on the side of one of the sleeves is etched C A R H A R T T in big vertical letters. https://pixabay.com/illustrations/unicorn-landscape-the-atmosphere-1737897/Image by Mystic Art Design from Pixabay

When Schuyler sent me the link three weeks ago that showed me the sweatshirt on his list, I texted him (those under the age of 30 only text, never a call or an e-mail):

“What the heck is a Carhartt? A six-foot unicorn? Or perhaps a meteor that’s destined to land on Earth in 2024?”

Schuyler “gets” my humor, unlike my other grandchildren. He sends me a laugh emoji and answers in text: “The name of a company.”

I sigh. How boring. I do not believe in giving free publicity by wearing a name on my clothes, be it “LL Bean,” or “Nike,” etc. But. Here I am approaching the mall where they sell Carhartt clothes in one of the department stores. Of course, I tried on-line, but they’re “sold out” in every virtual place. Why thousands of young people want to buy C A R H A R T T sweatshirts I can’t fathom. And I have lots of time to fathom as I slowly drive outside the enormous mall lot looking for a space to park.

https://pixabay.com/photos/sports-car-de-tomaso-pantera-6628516/HScarphotographieI swing toward the one empty spot I find, shouting, EUREKA! But a black, low-hung two-door sports car spins in front of my SUV into “my” space.

“What a jerk!” I yell out loud. My windows are closed, so the jerk can’t hear. Do I dare? Yes, I do. I park my car straight behind the jerk and get out of my boring ole SUV. Will I change his mind? Doubtful, but I’ll implore anyway.

I reach the driver’s side as a teenager jumps out: tall, lean, handsome, with an arrogant expression, hands up as he says, “Sorry ma’am, I got here first.”

If he hadn’t called me “ma’am” and if he’d worn an ounce of true regret, I would have thought twice. But besides the cocky grin, he wore a gray sweatshirt with the words C A R H A R T T stitched vertically on the left sleeve.

“What size do you wear?” I ask, surprising the heck out of the teen.

I’ll skip our next interaction but two minutes later I climb into my car with a Size M sweatshirt, opening my car window and yelling toward the bare-chested teenager: “Thanks for the shirt off your back. You’ve just entered Santa’s ‘good boy’ list for next year.”

karma, new year, 2024, happy new year

To a New Year filled with Good Karma!

129 thoughts on “Kinky Parking Karma”

  10. Great story! If it is true, I don’t understand the fascination with Carhartt clothing for the masses. They actually have a store in SoHo with no size over Large! That’s the brand my husband wore during his construction years.

    Liked by 3 people

  18. True or not, it made me laugh. I wouldn’t mind hunting for a parking spot at the mall but we don’t have one anywhere within a 3 hour drive. Walmart’s lot can get pretty intense. I don’t like advertising shirts either. I’m not a billboard. 🙂 I love Christmas but always glad to see Dec 26th. Hope you had a good one.

    Liked by 3 people

  19. I understand that Carhartt jackets are warm and sturdy. Many construction workers wear them in these parts. Now, I’m not up to date in what’s cool with the kids but I’m not sure that this is it around here.

    The story brought a smile. I rather hope it was true!

    Liked by 3 people

    • I had such a good time writing the story. Both of my 15-year-old grandsons, one in the East Coast and one in the West Coast, asked for the Carhartt sweatshirt for Christmas. They got them! I won’t admit here that I found them someplace other than the mall. 😏

      Liked by 1 person

  20. Reading the comments, I suspect you took the truth and did a little spin, kinda like the girl at the beach with arms wide open to greet the new year.

    I always love how you intertwine fiction and non-fiction. Now tell me, Pam, if I’m on the right track! 😀

    Liked by 3 people

  23. Since we have had that same parking trauma at some point in our driving experience, you are brave and lucky! Was it: a Santa bag of dollars or justice prevailed?

    Liked by 3 people

    • Sadly, the teen-in-parking-lot-space was fancifully conjured in my imagination. But if I’d had the courage, oh, if only I had such courage! Then, it wouldn’t be dollars, just a steady glare and the sweatshirt would be mine. 🙂

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  25. Thanks for the laughs and mystery Pam! Your story is delightful and has many of us hoping it might be true, even in part. I’m with you on the no advertising policy and silliness of young fashion. May your new year be full of love and laughter! 😍

    Liked by 2 people

    • Ha! Okay some free publicity for LL Bean here. Not only do they wear like iron, but you also don’t have to iron their shirts. My guy owns half a dozen and they come out of the washer/dryer ready to wear. Love it. Plus, the words LL Bean are inside the collar. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  31. I’m so literal. I immediately thought, OMG! She didn’t do that, did she? Oh, wait. This is Pamela. She’s all about imagination. Anyway, I love it. Wish it were real.

    Liked by 3 people

  34. I love this story, whether it was true or not. After all, truth is far stranger than fiction, right Pam? I don’t know how often “my” parking spot has been zapped from under me by a mini and even once by a motorcycle! None of the drivers showed any remorse. . .

    Liked by 3 people

  36. Fabulous story! I’ll be looking for you on the next Carhartt commercial. Because I’m on society’s cutting edge, I knew that Carharrt was an apparel company. 🤣

    I’ll bet the teen felt good about himself for helping you out. Going to the mall this time of year is something a caring grandparent does for their grandchild.

    Liked by 3 people

    • Oh, Pete I can’t take credit for going to the mall for my grandson. I made that part up (! but had fun doing so). But I still get good grandmother marks because I bought one each of the sweatshirts for each 15-year-old grandson (one on each coast). You ARE a fashionista, no doubt.

      Liked by 1 person

  37. I love the fiction based on (partial) true stories, Pam! We went to the mall less than 5 times this year. We ran in and out quickly. We don’t do free advertising for companies either but I like the Nike logo so I don’t mind wearing Nike shoes or shirts with a small logo. We drive by the Nike headquarters on a routine basis here in Portland. The previous owner of our new home worked for Nike and moved because of relocation by the company.

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  39. Lol! Something tells me after reading this that you might have beat the poor kid up mentally or physically and took his carhardt sweater as the reward 😆! Believe it or not, Carhardt has one of the best lines of clothing, and jackets that money can buy due to the warmth of their wear but, come at a high ticket price depending on what you buy. Their jackets are made of canvas if I’m not mistaken or some type of heavy material that is very rugged. My Russian friend stands by their line of jackets as he used to live in Siberia.

    Liked by 4 people

  41. Pam, I love the mixture of reality and fiction here! Isn’t this what we dream of doing but never would! Glad you managed to hunt down the sweatshirt – and laughing at your text exchange. A six-foot unicorn, eh?! Wishing you a lovely end to 2023, my friend! Happy New Year! xx

    Liked by 2 people

  47. Lol. It’s probably worth more because it’s been broken in. Great story, Pam. And I agree about wearing the label on our sleeves. When did that become a thing? All my clothes would have “Fred Meyers Grocery Store” printed on them. 🙂 Happy New Year, my friend.

    Liked by 2 people

  50. I’d love to think this is a true story — ???? I didn’t know Carhartt was a “thing” now – I’ve owned stuff from them in the past. Used to be well-made products.
    Happy New Year, Pam! Shall I text you?

    Liked by 1 person

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