Be Civil On Black Friday

Last year an employee (Jdimytai Damour) at a Long Island Walmart was trampled to death in a black Friday stampede. Mr. Damour’s death was tragic and needless. Tragic in the fact that the crowd of over 2000 impatient customers became like animals. Needless because Mr. Damour died for nothing.

Having worked in retail before, I have seen how the holiday season brings out the worst in people. It always seemed to me that the shoppers let their anger and rage build up over the year – and then let it release on on black Friday. As this year has been a bad one economically, most likely there will be a ton of angry shoppers ready and willing to fight over something like a laptop computer.

Which gets me back to Mr. Damour’s death last year. Mr. Damour died because the people in that crowd lost sight of who they were as human beings. More so, the value of whatever that crowd was attempting to get was placed over the value of Mr. Damour’s life.

Mr. Damour’s death was shocking, outrageous and again needless. There is no item, no matter what it is, that has a value greater than a human being’s life.

More Pestering

A while back, I blogged about the needless pestering in my life and how much it bugs me. Aside from it getting on my nerves, I often find the nature of the pestering to be quite bizarre. For instance, why would someone who has called the wrong number leave a message on a voice mail system which clearly identifies who its owner is?

Typical day again – I come home and find a few messages on my voice mail system.

First message. “Hi, this message is from Mrs. Scott, I’m calling to let Tony know that his prescription has been called in.” Well Mrs. Scott, since Tony doesn’t live here, I don’t know anything about his prescription – delete.

Second message. “Hello, this is Miss. Crown with Blue Cross/Blue Shield. I’m calling in reference to an enrollment application for last name Griffin who works for Acme Ford. The member’s first name is not listed and we need that information to process this application. If you could give us a call back with that information, we’d really appreciate it.” Miss Crown, appreciate this, whoever this person is, Griffin does not live here so you won’t be getting that first name info – delete.

Third message. “William is this your voice mail? I think I got your voice mail William, but it sure sounds different. Different voice on it and everything. Anyway, hey, this is Brian calling from the golf course. Just wanted to let you know that I closed the deal with the contractor. Everything’s on your desk just waiting for your John Hancock! Have a good one – bye!” Brian, anyone that leaves a message like yours on a stranger’s voice mail system has some issues. Furthermore, William does not live here and I don’t know anything about that contract – delete.

Fourth message. “Hi, this is Brenda, I’m just calling to let you know that I have the car now. It seems to be working OK, so don’t worry about taking it to the mechanic. Bye.” Well Brenda, I don’t know who you are and I really want to know why you’re driving my car – delete.

It’s stuff like this that makes me wonder about what people are thinking when they inadvertently call a wrong number and still leave a voice mail anyway. It’s also something that I will probably never understand.