MuttonChops

The hour is late, and with the rest of the world, I am watching President Obama's announcement of Osama Bin Laden's death. As the news cameras focus on growing crowds in the street, cheering and singing, I cringe a bit. I am hesitant to rejoice in anyone's death because of my profound spiritual belief that there is a higher justice. Karma is a bitch, and as soon as I bleat with the sheep over Bin Laden's death, justice may turn the shears on me. I also stop myself from joining the pep rally because Bin Laden may have been the mastermind behind Al Qaida and terrorist acts, but he did not act alone. When Dorothy killed the witch, the guards looked upset, but quickly hailed her actions. I have a feeling members of Bin Laden's clique' will not be so quick to jump the fence into greener pastures. They are trained; they know how to retaliate. Americans cheering on worldwide television is merely going to piss off the terrorists. The crowd mentality is merely cem...

I literally grew up in the land of retail. My father was a drug store manager and my mom usually worked on and off with him. Waaaay back in those days, child labor was a given. Rather than hire a sitter, my parents set me up on a box pricing items when I was 5 years old. By 11, I knew how to run a register, count change and “ Paper Moon ” was a quick study against flim-flam artists. I didn’t whine and generally enjoyed the feeling of being helpful. Customer service was priority and when on duty, I called dad “Mr. Carter.” At the same time, I learned how frustrating and aggressive the shopping public can be. Today’s events at a Long Island Wal-Mart proved to me that shoppers have gotten to a point of literally killing someone over a bargain. Retail work is grueling, underpaid, and thankless. No one appreciates a well-stocked shelf or an uncluttered toy aisle, but the minute an item is off the shelf, John Q. Public is annoyed and griping. Today, some poor clerk got in the way of an obn...