Zero clearance...

I went to a work retreat today at the training annex in the Lloyd District. Dept. of Human Services are not allowed to park in the parking garage there...it's reserved for the vocational colleged that is there. There are disabled spots there that I have always been allowed to park in.

I am a poor judge of the heighth of Jet White, our Dodge Sprinter. Eight feet, four inches is tall.

I pulled into the garage. I heard the antenna hit the ceiling, but I seemed to fit okay. I pulled into a disabled parking spot. When I got out of Jet White and walked around back to unloaded my scooter, I was horrified to see that there was not clearance between the top of Jet White and the ceiling of the garage --- it was pretty much touching it!

Coworkers Ruby and Sheri walked up as I was getting my scooter. They could not believe what I had done! The front of the van was in the open, but the back of the van was under the covered area. Out radio antenne is on the front, centered on the roof. It looked like it would snap off when I backed out. Ruby and Sheri just knew it would.

Ruby went out by the van during afternoon break for a smoke. When she came back to the meeting room, she told me there were some "suits" looking at me van, and that they wrote down my license.

When the meeting was over, I went down and started loading my scooter in the van. As I was backing onto the lift, a security guy drove by and told me to tell whoever was driving the van to be real careful when backing out. He did not know that the guy with CP on the scooter--me--was the driver of the van!

Ruby and Sheri drove by and backed into a nearby space. Wanting to see a train wreck, wanting to help me if I needed help, wanting to help me get my broken antenna. I couldn't blame them...it was going to be interesting!

I very slowly backed out. I heard the antenna moving around, but I did not hear any scraping.

As I pulled into the open, Ruby and Sheri were both giving me a big thumbs up. I made it!

I went and picked up E. I asked him if the antenna was still there. "Dad, what did you do?"

What can I say? I am good.

No...I am lucky!