Lest I leave an inaccurate impression...

Okay, I didn't JUST watch the waving ivy yesterday. I also spent a good give minutes watching someone try to parallel park a midsize sedan in a spot that was easily half again as big as it needed to be. Granted, it was on a hill, which would have presented a challenge in a stickshift, but this wasn't a stickshift. The person, my age or older even, couldn't seem to put together the two swings of the wheel necessary, and in fact kept stopping at the end of the first arc before trying to launch into the second arc. If you don't maintain movement through the two arcs, you'll never be able to put the car where you want it, as this person's repeated caresses of the curb with the back right tire attested. Ultimately, the driver gave up. Living in the suburbs robs you of the need, and therefore the ability, to parallel park. I've always been pretty pleased with myself for my ability to put a car into a tight space on the first try (my deep sense of shame would never let me try it for five minutes, believe me), although I'm not sure I understand it well enough to teach it. It's just a zen thing, a being thing. Be the car, park the car. On the other hand, we're all idiots for some part of each day, so maybe that was just that particular person's five minutes of idiocy.