_{This is Day 20 of the 30-day Traffic Koans contest. Details on how to enter can be found here: https://steemit.com/traffic-koans/@jedau/traffic-koans-halfway-update-1505319420-6600256}

It was pollination season, and every bee perched on their own flower. No bee can ever share a flower, so it was a race get your own.

Once a bee had its fill, it would leave and another would take its place.

One particular bee had its eye on a flower for quite some time. It waited while the current bee was latched to it. Once the previous bee was done, it excitedly fluttered its wings toward the flower.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, another bee grabbed its spot. It sapped the flower of its remaining pollen and departed.

Dejected, the bee tried to suck what little remained.

The bee that perched out of turn flew happily, up until it was eaten by a bird.

Imagine you've waited your whole life, working your way up from the bottom, and then someone comes along and steals that something you've working so hard for, just because they were in the right place at the right time. Oh wait, we're talking about parking spots. People who steal parking spaces are the worst.

Everyone wants to get a spot quickly, and while people are lucky enough to stumble upon one ahead of others waiting longer but are farther away, those who speed up and blatantly steal a spot are a special variety of scumbag. While I haven't been involved with these kinds of disputes, I have witnessed quite a few firsthand. One such instance happened on a rainy day, and we were in a queue of cars circling a covered parking lot hoping to be lucky enough to stumble upon a slot.

You would think that sorting it out would be simple, since whoever gets lucky enough to chance upon a leaving car would be able to get the slot. I assure you, I wouldn't be sharing this story if it was just that simple. We circled the lot about six times when suddenly a car signalled out. I was third in line to get to that spot, so I knew I would wait my turn. But then, the line stopped moving and after a few minutes, several people converged on that location.

It turns out, a representative of the car directly in front of me got out and stood at the spot, refusing to the yield to the car in front of them, which was the rightful car to grab that spot. Shouting ensued, and they needed several security guards to sort out the mess. At that time, I thought it was some next level assholery asking a young girl (I'm not sure how young she was) to stand in the spot and tell the rightful car to find a spot elsewhere. It was great entertainment, for sure.

As the dispute was happening, I saw another nearby car departing, so I broke off the line and gently crawled towards the space. After all, if the car ahead of me didn't want to take it, then I was the rightful car to get that slot. We parked without any hassle, without any dispute. And that, my friends, is patience paying off. (Or, karma slapping you in the face, depending on which perspective you're referring to).

Ever had a parking slot stolen from you? Tell your tale and get a chance to win some sweet, sweet SBD :D