35 Slots, My Foot

I took the day off today to bring RD to his eye doctor's appointment.   MacGyver usually drives RD to these doctor's appointments but he was unable to swap work schedules this time around so it was my turn to drive. 

RD's appointment was for 1:15 PM.  We left the house at noon at MacGyver's recommendation. 

The drive to the hospital was uneventful.  When we turned into the car park building, I glanced at the LED display to see how many slots were available.  I saw the sign indicate, "3 5" as we were entering. In my mind, 'Thirty-five slots.  That's good.  I'm sure I can find parking.'

We drove in and went through the first level, then the second, then the third.  We were almost at the roof deck and there was still no empty slots in sight.   We got to the top level.  No luck.  Nothing.  Nada.  

"But the sign said  '35', RD,"  I said.  "Where are they?  I just need one. Let's check again downstairs."

We drove down.  Around the car park we went, all the way to the ground level.  Still no slots.  In fact, when we drove by the entrance, I think they were not letting cars in anymore.  

We drove back up but still couldn't find anywhere to park.  Fortunately we were still early for the appointment.  RD mentioned that someone was bound to leave and that MacGyver would sometimes wait around for a slot to free up.   I decided to double park at one of the levels before we hit to roof deck.  It was a hot day and I was hoping to find a slot in the covered area.  

I prayed to the guardian angel of parking.  (If Mother gets St. Anthony to help her find lost things, Eldest Sis and I go to the parking angel to find free parking slots.)  I specifically prayed for covered parking. (It helps when one is more specific when praying for these things.)

Lo and behold, a lady walked towards us not long after.  I asked if she was leaving and she indicated that hers was the black car parked not too far from where we were.  (Oh yeah! Thank you, guardian angel of parking.)  

After we parked, we headed for the main building on foot.  As we exited the car park, I told RD I wanted to check the sign again.  I could not believe it said there were 35 slots available when we entered.  It had to be broken or something.

Well, it was something all right.

When I checked the sign, the LED display scrolled as it did earlier.  But this time, I got to see the rest of the message : 3 5PACE5 ...

Go figure.  (I think I am the one that needs to get my eyes checked.)

In a way, I am thankful that I misread the sign.  Thinking that there were 35 slots gave me a ton of hope.  In fact, there was a lot to be thankful for today.  According to RD, we were seen by the nurse and the doctor within a reasonable amount of time.  Plus we found a free parking slot inside the car park.  And as we were leaving, we discovered the parking machine was broken and the boom gate was up so we literally got free parking. 

Here is the proof.  I didn't have to feed the machine to get out.