I'm debating on whether or not to go into work today. I'll probably just go in tomorrow and get a lot finished. I have two columns to definitely write (the food column and the Last Word) and there are a couple of other ideas I have that I might get started on. But I don't know.
I was reading my news feed from the N&O, and I came across this story:
As store worker died, shoppers kept on
, The Associated Press
NEW YORK - A Wal-Mart worker was killed Friday when "out-of-control" shoppers desperate for bargains broke down the doors at a 5 a.m. sale.Other workers were trampled as they tried to rescue the man, and customers shouted angrily and kept shopping when store officials said they were closing because of the death, police and witnesses said.
At least four other people, including a woman who was eight months pregnant, were taken to hospitals for observation or minor injuries, and the store in Valley Stream on Long Island closed for several hours before reopening.
Nassau County police said about 2,000 people were gathered outside the store's doors at a mall about 20 miles east of Manhattan. The impatient crowd knocked the man, identified by police as Jdimytai Damour of Queens, to the ground as he opened the doors, leaving a metal portion of the frame crumpled like an accordion.
"This crowd was out of control," said Nassau police spokesman Lt. Michael Fleming. He described the scene as "utter chaos."
Dozens of store employees trying to fight their way out to help Damour were also trampled by the crowd, Fleming said.
Items on sale at the store included a Samsung 50-inch Plasma HDTV for $798, a Bissel Compact Upright Vacuum for $28, a Samsung 10.2 megapixel digital camera for $69, and DVDs such as "The Incredible Hulk" for $9.
Damour, 34, was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead about 6 a.m., police said. The exact cause of death has not been determined.
A 28-year-old pregnant woman was taken to a hospital, where she and the baby were reported to be OK, said police Sgt. Anthony Repalone.
Police said criminal charges were possible in the case, but Fleming said it would be difficult to identify individual shoppers. Authorities were reviewing surveillance video.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., based in Bentonville, Ark., called the incident a "tragic situation" and said the employee came from a temporary agency and was doing maintenance work. It said it tried to prepare for the crowd by adding staffers and outside security workers, putting up barricades and consulting police.
"Despite all of our precautions, this unfortunate event occurred," senior Vice President Hank Mullany said in a statement.
Kimberly Cribbs, who witnessed the stampede, said shoppers were acting like "savages."
"When they were saying they had to leave, that an employee got killed, people were yelling 'I've been on line since yesterday morning,' " she said. "They kept shopping."
That? Is ridiculous. I mean, I like getting good deals as much as the next person, but I've never really understood the whole thing with day after Thanksgiving shopping. Maybe stores shouldn't have things be so ridiculously overpriced throughout the year, and then it wouldn't be such a big deal when prices are where they put them that Friday. I mean. . .starting a sale at 5 a.m.? Really? Why? When I was having lunch with Jan yesterday, we were talking about that, and I said, "You know, there are precious few things in life that would get me out of bed at 5 a.m. Actually. . .you'd have to get out of bed long before 5. The sale actually starts at 5. No thanks.
I did go to Wal-Mart yesterday, but it wasn't until, like, 7 at night. I had a sweater to return and I bought picture frames. I got all that done, and no one died.
People have weird priorities. Especially now when we're in a recession, or whatever it is we're in at the moment. Instead of buying TVs, how about paying off your credit cards? Or making sure you can make rent this month? Just a thought.
A weekly publication I love (and I think they very loosely call it a "magazine." I suppose it's as much a magazine as mine is.) is Skirt! Magazine. I picked up a copy in Greensboro Thursday, and I've been looking through it, looking for ideas to borrow and/or steal. This little box that always on the front cover says, "Skirt! is all about women. . .their work, play, families, creativity, style, health and wealth, bodies and souls. Skirt! is an attitude. . .spirited, independent, outspoken, serious, playful and irreverent, sometimes controversial, always passionate."
That? Is the kind of publication I want to work for. I mean, I love that I'm the editor of my own publication, but honestly? My hands are tied on a lot of subjects. I'm not allowed to put in reviews of restaurants if there's anything negative said in them. Nothing controversial. Kind of. . .mountain white bread, truth be told. I want something else. I'll do this until I learn everything about it, and add my own touches to it, but I need something bigger, you know? I'm aware that if I want anything bigger, I won't be able to live in this town forever, which. . .sucks in a way. I really do like it here. But there's more out there I need to get to eventually, and there are a lot of things here I need to get away from.
Speaking of things to get away from, I had to go downstairs to Angie and Kristina and make sure that my name was taken off the template for the Obits and the Life sections, because Vi did those for Wednesday's paper, and one headline said something about how an author was going to 'ahare' their book and another said that a couple was going to hold an anniversary 'recpetion.' Now. . .I know people make mistakes, but spell check would have caught that. Ahare and recpetion are not words, and spell check knows that. It's frustrating to have an editor that would clearly rather be a reporter, that doesn't care enough to run spell check. I run spell check over EVERYTHING I do. I mean, I understand if you accidentally type "their" instead of "there," and a proofreader would catch that, if my company would stop being so cheap and hire one, but misspelling things in HEADLINES is why people make fun of us. And it's, 9 times out of 10, because of Vi.
We ran a story a few months ago that said something about 'duel farmer's markets.' Perhaps if the veggie-growers were out there with swords screaming, "En garde!," that would make sense. However, what Vi was going for was that there were two farmer's markets. Dual farmer's markets.
Basically, we all look like a bunch of idiots a bunch of the time.
But I made sure my name was taken off that template, because it looked like I was the one that made those egregious errors. False. I would not misspell "reception." And if I mistyped it? It would be caught when I ran spell check. I'm just sayin'.
I need to ask Dennis to take a new mug shot of me. NewJeff said the one I have in the system made me 'look like I weighed 300 pounds,' and while I know that I shouldn't let what people say bother me, when someone tells me I look fat, I take that particular insult very, very personally. See, one side of my family is all incredibly obese, and I'm terrifie that I'm going to end up like that. I'm not a small girl by any means (it's hard to even pretend to be petite when you tower over most girls), but I'm not going to let myself get to the point where that side of the family is. I will not. So a new mug shot it is, since NewJeff has given me a gigantic complex about the entire thing.
So while I'm aware I shouldn't let what people say bother me, I am, in fact, overly sensitive. I can just ignore it better about some things than others.