Anonymous note vexes veteran

Concord, NC - Monday was a hot day in Concord, N.C. and Rebecca Hayes had been going back and forth from her car at different stops so when she pulled in at the Harris Teeter in Coddle Creek, that front parking space was a welcome sight.

She parked and ran inside to get some things on her shopping list. 

Someone outside took exception to Hayes parking in that front space. It is reserved for veterans, and that person took a moment to write a note and stuck it on her windshield.

When Hayes returned to her vehicle, she found the note and was determined to apologize. 

But Hayes did not apologize for parking in a space reserved for veterans, because after eight years in the United States Navy, she is a veteran.

Hayes apologized for having to explain herself as a veteran deserving of a space reserved for veterans. She apologized for having to second guess whether she should park in spaces like that for fear of getting a note like this. She apologized for not having the chance to have that conversation face to face with the note writer who saw her as a woman taking a space she did not deserve instead of a woman who served and earned that right.

Her bold "apology" is now making waves around the country as her post resonates with others who served and reminds all of us of the danger of judging someone based solely on appearance.