383580 06: Two chairs protect a resident''s shoveled parking spot December 20, 2000 on a Chicago street. For years, residents in neighborhoods throughout the city of Chicago have followed the unwritten law of "marking" their parking spots after a heavy snow. With folding chairs, tables, lumber --and sometimes more elaborate things such as trees and benches-- Chicagoans take part in the most communal of functions. Last week, Chicago''s Mayor Richard Daley defended the chairs as territorial markers. "It''s their property," the mayor said referring to the cleared-out spots. He said if people spend a lot of time digging their cars out, they should have something to show for their work. "If someone spends all that time digging their car out, do not drive into that spot," the mayor said. (Photo by Tim Boyle/Newsmakers)(Photo by Tim Boyle/Newsmakers)