Tragedy Strikes In The Blink Of An Eye

Those of you who have read my blogs know that I try to make light of day to day life. I'm going to stray from that format and pray that you pass this along to friends and family.


On Friday April 15th, a family from Dudley MA, experienced an unspeakable tragedy. Their four year old son ran toward an escalator, grabbed the moving handrail and was pulled up and somehow became lodged between the escalator and a plexiglass barrier. He then fell 18 feet onto a jewelry counter below. He lost his fight for life the next day. All in the blink of an eye.


Escalators are not toys. I have witnessed some of the most ridiculous and dangerous behavior on and around escalators. A few weeks ago a woman, with two children on foot and one in a stroller, came up the escalator. As she neared the top she lost her footing and nearly fell backward down the moving steps. I have seen parents showing their children how fun it is to walk down the up escalator, and vice versa. I have seen parents become so engrossed in doing their shopping that they forget all about their children, and these unattended children amuse themselves around the escalators. I have seen elderly people lose their balance and fall because they don't feel as if they need to hold onto the handrail. I have seen elderly people with walkers and canes attempt to use the escalator. I have seen able bodied shoppers bogged down with bags of newly purchased goods get on the escalator and slip.


I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that 99.9% of multilevel shopping malls and department stores are equipped with elevators. And while they tend to be tucked away in a corner, making it necessary to walk a bit more, use them, they could save a life.


And parents, your children are more precious then that gift you need to buy, watch them. Keep their hand in yours and don't let them out of your sight. Any number of horrors can happen to unattended children. Tragedy can strike, your life can forever change, all in the blink of an eye.

I missed the sale.....

The retail store I work in just finished it's biggest sale of the season. Our clients were sent invitations three weeks in advance of the event. All sales associates called their clients a week before the sale to remind them of the sale and, seven days in advance, they could "pre-order" anything they might need. The sale itself was five days.

And yet, nearly two weeks after the sale I had a customer walk in and requested we honor the sale price and the additional 20% for the event. Really?

"I am so sorry, I know the sale is over, but could you, would you please honor the sale pricing?" she asked.

"No, I'm sorry. Those prices are no longer in effect. But we have a sale coming up next week and I can help you with that." I replied.

"No, I don't want to wait until next week's sale. Please? My car ran out of gas and I couldn't get out here in time for the sale." she continued.

"I really am very sorry, but in the future please know that you can always call us and order anything you need over the phone, and we can pre-sell up to seven days in advance."

"But you don't understand," she whimpered, "my cell phone died and we didn't have any electricity because a tree blew over and shorted the entire neighborhood! And to top it off we contracted some kind of bacterial disease that required the CDC to quarantine the entire house hold. So you see, an exception should really be made in my case."

"I'm really very sorry, but there is nothing I can do."

At this point she started flexing her shopping muscles, I saw the twinkle in her eye and knew what was coming next.

"Would you please call a manager?" she asked.

UGH! "Just one moment please and I will have a manager here for you."

The manager arrived and the customer went through the same explaination she did with me. I was standing there, waiting for the vindication I knew was mine. I would be waiting a long time.

"Certainly" she stated, "I would be happy to honor those prices for you."

That evening I went into the grocery store to purchase crab legs. Approaching the seafood counter I noticed that they were no longer on sale.

"Please Mr. Seafood Worker, I missed the sale because of fallen trees, no electric, CDC diseases, no gas, no cell phone, no life....please would you honor yesterdays pricing?"

Considering he was doubled over in laughter at the explanation I thought I would get away with it.

"Nope! Sale was over yesterday!" he hooted. 

"Okay, I'll take three pounds."

Baby Weight

It has been so many years since I was at my fighting weight. But twenty-seven years and two children later I am now what I would like to classify as a "BBW" (Big, Beautiful Woman). I try to get to the gym for water aerobics as often as possible and it helps, but my penchant for rich food negates most of the excercise.

I remember being in the locker room of those fancy chain fitness centers about ten years ago, in my sweats, debating whether to chance a shower there or head home where I knew I wouldn't contract any kind of fungal disease. In walked two women who looked like they just stepped out of a fashion magazine.  They had just finished their work out but weren't even sweating.

"I am having such a hard time shedding all this baby weight," stated one of the women.

"Me too," said the other one, "it has been 5 months and I can't seem to get rid of the last five pounds!"

Combined they couldn't have weighed 200 pounds. I knew I had to say something.

"I know what you mean, I have been having the same problem." I interjected.

"How old is your baby?" they asked in unison.

"Sixteen years old next week!" I exclaimed, doubling over in waves of laughter. 


I've seen more expression on a brick wall! I picked up my change of cloths and went home.