Dear Aunt Bingo,
Last night I took my husband to Midnight Bingo. We leave early so we can find handicap parking. There are usually two, maybe four, places marked with wide stripes. These are for wheelchairs only and have a wheelchair picture and van-accessible sign on them.
Unfortunately, there are few people who understand or give a d--- about anyone else. When we arrived at the Bingo all lined parking (two spots) was gone, so I had to take up two parking spaces. (The hall owner had told us it was OK to do this when the handicap spaces were full.)
My husband has no legs and is in a wheelchair. We have a ramp that folds out and lies on the ground. He then rolls down and has to have additional room to clear the end of the ramp with his chair. Our van has a sign on the door that says, “Wheelchair: Leave 8 Feet Clearance.” Yet in spite of all this, when we came out of Bingo there was a little car that had wedged itself into the space next to our van, making it impossible for my husband to get in.
I could have let my ramp down a few times on top of her car and really done some damage to the hood. I refrained from doing so, but it took a lot of restraint.
They were still playing the pull-tab games in the hall and we had to wait for 30 minutes for this inconsiderate lady to move her car. I found out later that the driver had complained to the security guard that I had taken two parking spaces. Unfortunately, the guard did not have the sense to tell her to move her car, although he did point out to her the sign saying to leave eight feet for clearance.
This has not happened to us just at Bingo. We have had similar problems at department stores and other places with public parking lots.
Thank you for letting me vent. Maybe some people will be more considerate of those who are living lives with disabilities. —Kay from Texas
Dear Kay,
I have relatives who are wheelchair bound and I have seen firsthand the amount of space necessary to operate a van chairlift. I have also witnessed how difficult it can be to maneuver these vans into tight parking lots and even tighter handicap spaces.
I’m not sure what has happened to people’s sense of caring and compassion. Maybe it is the pressures of everyday life; perhaps it is the added stress of these recessionary times. But there is definitely a “me first” attitude that seems to have permeated society, and your experience certainly exemplifies just that.
Let’s hope your letter serves as a reminder that regardless of what difficulties life throws our way, we must remember that there are people in far worse situations than us who need our understanding and compassion.
It’s a jungle out there. Let’s not be another one of the animals.
—Aunt Bingo
Dear Aunt Bingo,
I read in your column about someone whose mother-in-law left and gave her packet to her and she won but they wouldn’t pay her because it was called splitting the packet.
To me, people split Bingo packages all the time. I notice that couples do it all the time. One gets the seat while the other goes and buys the packages for them. Well, that is splitting because the other person didn’t go and buy the package themselves. So it’s actually done all the time and when they win they are paid. If you’re going to enforce a rule then apply it to everyone.
I can understand parents buying in for their children because they are not legally old enough to purchase a packet. But if the child is sitting there and the parent is actually playing the packet, if it was to win should it be invalid, too?
What would happen if someone went to the restroom and someone played their package and won? Would that winning packet be invalid too since the owner wasn’t playing when it won?
So in reality, maybe that particular rule should just go away and not be enforced.
—Donald, via e-mail
Dear Donald,
Somebody should send you to law school. You’d be awesome at it!
You bring up a lot of interesting points, the primary one being that Bingo hall rules exist to set standards for Bingo gaming operations, but leave some wiggle room to allow those running the halls to interpret them as they think best. Two adults are caught sharing a single pack? Busted. A mom keeps a child from fussing by letting him play one of her Bingo sheets? No problem. One is interpreted as a violation, the other as acceptable parenting.
Our courtrooms are filled with lawyers and judges who are constantly refining the laws of the land to fit our ever-evolving society. I guess Bingo hall managers and players are doing much the same thing. —Aunt Bingo
Write to Aunt Bingo c/o the Bingo Bugle, P.O. Box
527, Vashon, Washington 98070, or e-mail her at
STENGL456@aol.com.
