Not Gonna Crucify Kay, Today

I came within the width of a cat whisker of joining a movement to villify a local shop owner. Her name is Kay. She sells fancy gifts. A mother with a four-year-old came into Kay's shop. Her child uses a walker. Kay asked the woman and her child to leave, apparently because of the walker. The mother explained that her child moves fine with the walker and didn't want to leave. The shop owner pressed her point. The pair left, mad. Like a public relations nightmare, the story spread on Facebook: A cute four-year-old gets kicked out of store due to disability. When I read about it, I felt the rage of the wronged mother. Then I remembered the jar of applesauce. Four-year-old Birdie broke it at Dierbergs. I was with her, but not watching her. The proof lay in the spilt applesauce and jagged bits of glass. I reported the broken jar to the courtesy counter clerk, but I didn't pay for it. I told Big Guy that the grocery store was at fault. The jar shouldn't have been where Birdie could reach it. I was wrong. And so is the woman out to crucify Kay. No four-year-old belongs in a fancy shop full of breakable items. While a parent may think her child will never tumble into a fragile display, it happens.  And often someone else is left to clean up the mess. I applaud Kay for running a local business. I admire her for spotting the four-year-old and trying to encourage the mother to leave. Obviously, Kay needs a lesson in tact. But perhaps the mother needs a lesson in commonsense. Don't bring children into stores where they don't belong. In stores where four-year-olds belong, everyone should welcome them, no matter how they're packaged.  And usually, that is what happens. What shouldn't come from all of this mess is for a local business to go under. But it could happen. There are a lot of moms taking up this angry mother's cause. On that long ago day at Dierbergs, if a store employee had spoken to me about my wandering daughters, I might have taken offense or even moved my business to the rival Schnucks. But I also might have watched them as carefully as Dierbergs deserved.