Scary situation at Wal-Mart

We had to make a trip to Garden City this evening. As always when we go to Garden City, we almost always have to make a trip to Wal-Mart.

Abigayle and I were suffering with bladder-burst-itis so we quickly found our way to the restrooms at the back of the store (not up by the check-outs). To get to that set of restrooms, one must walk through a large room where people once set up arrangements for lay-aways. In all of the years that we have shopped at Wal-Mart, we have never had such an unnerving experience as we had tonight. There were two rows of gangmembers that Abigayle and I were forced to walk between. I admit that I thoroughly enjoy those email that show the weird people who shop Wal-Mart! But I found not one thing humorous about these clowns. There were between 8 and 12 men and women (not kids) who all decided to wear black and grey to do their shopping tonight. Some had shaved their heads. There were others who had the opposite hairstyle. Their hair was the bushiest and nastiest afros I have ever seen. Each one of them was wearing black make-up. No doubt about it, they were gothic with a capital G. I will be the first to tell you that I have NO use for ANY gangs. One of my least favorites is those of the goth scene.

My daughters and I are very close. It is nothing to see the girls and I walking hand in hand in stores, etc. As we walked through these spooky wonders, Abi's little hand tightened around mine even tighter than normal. About halfway through their little congregation, a nasty woman started laughing at us and then most of her coharts joined in. Once inside the restroom, we discovered that a lady who had been changing her son's diaper was afraid to leave the bathroom because of this motley crew. And, honestly, I was not looking forward to it either.

Something welled up inside me. I don't know if it was what Daddy referred to as GUTS or foolishness. All of a sudden, I wanted to go out there and give the shameful idiots a piece of my mind--until I remembered that I may not have much more to give! So...I did the next best thing. I ushered Abigayle to the only stoolette at Wal-Mart that we EVER use--the handicapped stoolette. Because of my rheumatoid arthritis in my back, the taller stoolette allows me to get off of the stoolette without the assistance of the Finney County EMS. (How embarrassing that would be!!! LOL!!!) I also insist that both of my daughters go with me so that I can protect them better. Afterall, once you've seen those Wal-Mart people email, you know that all kinds of crazies shop there. LOL!

This time, as soon as we entered the stoolette stall, I removed my handy dandy cellphone from my BRA-ket and dialed 620-275-0775, Wal-Mart's phone number. A friendly associate answered the phone. Because of the fact that I did not know if there were any other gang members in the stalls there, I lowered my voice and informed the associate that I was calling from the back bathroom. (She probably thought that I had fallen into the stoolette and could not get out!) I explained to her that there were some gang members just outside of the bathroom and that they were up to no good. She assured me that she would be alerting management immediately. Soon after, we walked out of the bathroom to find no gang members standing around anymore.

For the rest of our shopping at Wal-Mart tonight, Abi and I could just not get over the uneasiness that we had felt as we walked to the restroom. When I told Stan and Leighlyn about the phone call that I had made from the restroom, he thought that I had gone too far. Ugghh!!! As we were exiting the store, we noticed a store greeter there who we enjoy very much. She stopped us to talk. For some reason, she told us that there had been a scary situation at the store tonight involving gang members. I asked her what had happened. She told me that several had taken a woman down in the back of the store. When I told her that I had called the associate, she was glad to hear that we had taken time to call the Wal-Mart office because management believed that the call might have saved the woman from being seriously injured or worse.

I am NOT trying to scare anyone from shopping at Wal-Mart!!!We shop there many times every year and this is the only time where we have seen gangsters come together to bully others. I AM saying that we need to be aware of what is happening in these large stores clear on down to mom and pop convenience stores. If your inner voice is telling you not to put yourself in a certain area, LISTEN TO IT!!! Carry your cellphone with you when you shop and be willing to use it!!! And...DO NOT be one of those people who decides to keep on walking when they see a dangerous situation where someone is or may be getting hurt. I detest those marshmallow types!!! Get some help for that person or people!!!

VLE-B