The Parking Lot

In 1972, I got a summer job working in a parking lot at a bank. The job required that I work outside, which I didn't mind. It was across the street from a hotel downtown. The Osmonds stayed there one night after a concert. The next morning, their bus pulled up to the side to take them away. Little girls were screaming, "We love you Donny". He waved at them from the back of the bus, as it was pulling away. The girls ran behind the bus, inhaling the exhaust. The parking lot was a block away from the State House. I was told when hired that the parking lot was for bank customers only, and I was not to allow others to park for free and go shopping. I learned early on that people with state license plates could park there for free, if it was government business, or even if it wasn't. One afternoon, a woman parked her car and walked off. It was there for quite a while. I checked in the bank and called around. Nobody knew of that car, so I called the tow truck to take it away. The owner came back, and it turned out that she had been applying for a bank job. I was sent out to get her car back from the towing service. I don't know if she got the job, but I know some money changed hands. The parking lot was pretty small. It only held around 30 cars. Because it was so tight, I would often have to help customers back out of places to let others come in. One day, I was helping a woman in a Cadillac back out to let a Volkswagen pull in. The Cadillac woman was doing okay, but when she got out of the spot, she stepped on the gas and her car was still in reverse. She crushed me between her car and the VW. I felt pain but managed to crawl out onto the hood of the VW and rolled off. I was hobbling. The woman in the Cadillac asked if I was okay, and I said yes, and she sped off. The woman in the VW pulled into the spot and suggested I go inside the bank. I did, and the bank people said I needed to go to the hospital to be checked out. The hospital was 3 blocks away. When I got there, they x-rayed my legs but didn't see anything broken. They said that I just has a deep bruise, but I would be okay. I was in some pain, but I trusted the doctors. 2 years later, I developed some pain in my right knee, and my parents took me to a doctor. He did some x-rays and found that I was walking around on a dislocated knee and had been for 2 years. He said that he could fix it, but I would have to be in a cast. If I chose not to have it fixed, I would develop arthritis when I reached 40. I was 21, so 40 seemed a long way off. Besides, I was in college and was doing plays, so I didn't want a cast. I opted to do nothing. Over time, my leg and skeleton adjusted to the change. My right foot is a little wider than the left, due to the change in alignment. My little toe on my right foot is turned under. I have a slight limp. I talked to a specialist a few years ago, and he told me to never have an emergency room diagnose a joint issue, because they are not trained to do so. Words to live by. I tried to stay in shape by walking and running to keep my leg muscles strong, but I did start getting arthritis in my knee, when I reached 40. It is just another example of why I am so special. Feel the love.