This week I had to park in a crowded, unfamiliar parking lot. This lot is surrounded by a cement wall and trees on three sides and the street on the fourth. It is separated from the building it's for by a tree-ringed plaza, and the building itself is downhill from the lot. I'm telling you all this so you will understand why, though I could see the building, I couldn't figure out how to actually exit the lot and reach the building, other than walking out to the street and following the sidewalk around the block, thus losing the advantage I'd gained by having parked next to the building in the first place.

It was over ninety degrees outside and I didn't feel like baking on the hot, unsheltered sidewalk. Then it occurred to me that the handicapped spaces are always closest to the building entrance. I looked around for the familiar blue signs and walked toward them. Sure enough, they were right next to the parking lot exit which led to the tree-shaded plaza. I made it to the lecture on time, feeling darn proud of myself. As someone who is "spatially challenged," I'm sure I'll use that trick again.