We Live in a Society, and There are Rules

Today, on Day 14 of 40 Days of Blogging, I've chosen a topic suggested by my friend Beth:

What's something that other people do that you don't do, and why don't you?

You'll probably laugh, but there's one thing I never, ever do. Once some friends dared me to do it, late at night, with nobody around, and I did and we laughed and I shivered with the rogue forbidden thrill of it all, but other than that time I never have again.

I don't drive across the painted rows in parking lots.

Even when the parking lot is empty and the store is closed.

I can't, because it's wrong. There are rules. The are laws and rules and policies, and we as a society depend on everyone to follow the same rules. I've broken other rules. I speed, sometimes. I burn through yellow lights. Sometimes I turn without using a signal, and once I even crossed in the crosswalk on Red Hand while students were looking, but I just can't bring myself to drive across the rows. It's like I have a mental block or something.

I think part of it is that I find driving in parking lots stressful. I have to watch where I'm going. I have to watch for people backing out without looking behind them. I have to watch for old people, runaway carts, and unsupervised children. I have to see if anyone else is trying to park in the space that I'm trying to park in, and then, out of nowhere... rogue cars! Driving willy nilly across the rows! It's like it's the year 1994, and out of space comes a runaway planet, hurtling between the Earth and the Moon! Chaos! Disaster! Terror!

And sometimes that car takes my parking space!

All around, the whole thing is a nightmare. Those lines exist for a reason, and people should be aware of and respect that reason.

It's best for everyone.