DEAR ABBY: I, too, used to silently condemn able-looking people who park in handicapped spaces. Then my husband developed lymphatic cancer at age 39 and needed chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
During his half-year of treatment, he displayed a handicapped placard in his car. Anybody watching him leave his car would have seen a tall, handsome, well-built man in the prime of his life. But the powerful treatments left him so weak and exhausted, he could barely walk across a parking lot.
That's when I realized that not all disabilities show, and if a person has a handicapped placard on the dashboard, he or she probably needs it. -- JULI IN VALLEY VILLAGE, CALIF.
P.S. Three years later, my husband is doing just fine.
DEAR JULI: I'm pleased that your story has a happy ending. I'm printing your letter as a reminder that people shouldn't jump to conclusions without having all the facts.