"I hate having to use disabled parking," she said. "I see how people look at me, and I know what they're thinking. 'What makes that weirdo think she can park there?' Sometimes they ask me what I'm doing parked in one of those spaces."

"What do you tell them?" I asked.

"I just walk away," she said.

"Why don't you tell them the truth?" I asked. "Why don't you look them in the eye and say, 'I've had to park in handicapped spaces since I got back from Iraq, because now I can't walk past a row of cars without thinking that one of them is going to blow up in my face."

Read or listen to it all.

Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Military / Armed Forces • Psychology • * Economics, Politics • Iraq War • War in Afghanistan

1. Tired of Hypocrisy wrote: Thanks for keeping this on our radar. There was an interesting 60 Minutes story on IEDs tonight. My son got to experience one of these first hand, and the description this person gives rings true—if you survive. I think if you get thrown, you’re potentially one of the lucky ones. If you don’t get thrown, the prospects are not quite as good. He has “recovered” and is still deployed, but I can tell he is always thinking about the best ways to survive one of these blasts. November 16, 12:59 am | [comment link]

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