Overthinking

On the train coming home from Boston on Saturday, I was looking at my ticket. I asked Elaine why handicapped riders got reduced fares. She explained that not all stations are handicapped-accessible, so disabled commuters can't get full use of the T's services. Therefore, they pay a reduced rate. Which makes perfect sense.

So then I said, "I've always wondered why some handicapped parking spaces don't have meters when regular spaces do. I understand the need for reserved handicapped parking, I just don't know why they are also free."

Elaine explained that if you are in a wheelchair, you might not be able to reach the meter.

"Uh, okay. I guess that makes sense."

She continued, "Or you might have other disabilities. Like, you might have no arms."

I agreed, privately thinking I probably would have trouble parallel parking with no arms, but she had a point. I wasn't going to mock her.

That is, I wasn't going to mock her if she'd only stopped there.

"Or...", Elaine is triumphant. "What if you were blind?"

I didn't have to mock her. It eventually sank in, and as she put her head in her hands in a "I-did-not-just-say-that" kind of way, I promised her, "I am so putting this story on the blog!"