WAL-MART vs THE BATBy Jim Foster
We have all heard of Batman, the bat mobile, the bat cave, and of course his ward Robin, but have you heard of the bats of North Branch, Minnesota? Well, maybe not.
North Branch is not to be confused with Northfield, Minnesota where on September 7, 1876 the James Younger gang tried to rob the bank. History tells us that ended in disaster.
So 135 years later and 80 miles north of Northfield another attack occurred on September 3, 2011 in North Branch and in the local Wal-Mart Store.
As reported first by WCCO television, 5 – year old Zoe Zachrison had an encounter with a bat, the flying kind, while sitting in the “for kids only” section of her mom’s shopping cart.
Of Course it was Zoe's mother, Holley Townley, who reported the encounter and she is reported saying, "The bat flew down the pizza aisle, flew back at us, flew down and landed on her, attacking her and bit her leg." She went on to say that poor little Zoe was barely able to move after the attack.
As a precaution the little girl has undergone the series of rabies shots juts to be safe. This would be the same procedure that should take place if someone was bitten by a stray dog on the street with an unknown owner.
The mother says the little girl was running a 103-degree temp and very achy, and sore joints. Humm… the flu has the same symptoms I believe. Holly also complained she made three trips to the emergency room; doesn’t Mrs. Townley have a family doctor?
Of course Holley wants Wal-Mart to pay out the nose for the “attack” and the resulting medical bills and I would assume for pain and suffering if she can end up with a Wal-Mart hating judge who has a 5-year old granddaughter.
As is many times the case she has blown this way out of proportion, as mothers have been known to do, especially in a business having so called deep pockets.
Holly was quoted saying, "I think Wal-Mart needs to step up and take responsibility for what happened to her," Townley said. "This was their store, their responsibility."
It should be noted that the key question here is was it a Wal-Mart bat? Or maybe one sent over from K-Mart?
My heart goes out to little Zoe and it is my wish she is fully recovered soon and ready to continue with those wonderful times only a five-year old can have.
AUTHORS NOTE: To think I am pro Wal-Mart would be untrue but I do shop there from time to time. However, for the month of September 2011 I am going to look at everything I buy and if it was made in China or Hong Kong I will put it back and buy a product that was made in this country. In a small way I hope to promote buying more American made products and thereby creating a few more jobs. JF
If you have comments or news for Jim his Email is JimF06@gmail.com
