My Best Move Of The Week

After a 1-1-1 week in Tampa, I moved on to visit some friends in Sarasota.

It was 80 degrees and sunny, so we headed to the beach.

One of the things you need to know is that public parking at the beach is highly limited and competitive, particularly given the season ( spring break, one round of ncaa madness in Tampa, vacation for many, etc ).

If you aren't there by 10:30am you are pretty much out of luck. Nonetheless, we had arrived about 11:15am. We nailed the last space available and went to the gulf for a while.

By the time we swam our 4 miles ( I was working on my butterfly stroke) and were returning to the car, it was clear that people had been circling the parking lot for an hour or more watching and waiting for folks who look like they are headed back to their cars.

As we neared our soon to be "prime" parking spot, I noticed a twenty something with his girlfriend driving a snazzy convertible which he likely had not paid for himself.

But more than that, he was wearing a Red Sox hat. The one with the two red socks on it. He had that arrogant, " I am entitled to luck out" look, and was eying us and tailing us salivating at the prospect of getting our parking spot soon to be vacated for him.

When we were just about at our car, I told my party to "cut through " the lane as though our car was one more line away. In order to follow us there, he had to go around the end of the line of cars and reverse directions, leading to another loop of the entire ( seemingly endless ) lot. It was one way, so he had no option to do otherwise.

As soon as he was committed, and another car was approaching the tailing position he had just vacated, we returned to where our car actually was ( which he had originally been lined up to get ) now set-up for another car.

In the language of the Boston Bruins, we "deked" him.

My friends said, "why did you do that?"

My reply: " I am not letting some over-privileged, asshole Red Sox fan have our parking space. I hope he has to circle for another hour.."

All this and I wasn't driving and it wasn't my car.