a story and a PSA

sort of, i guess.

a friend of mine told me something recently that scared the living shit out of me. i mean, i got goosebumps listening to the story.

apparently, a woman was shopping at the local costco with her baby strapped into her infant car seat, attached to the shopping cart. most moms do this - it's an easy way to get shit done without screwing up naptime, and a ride in the car often puts a baby right to sleep. hell, a ride in the car usually puts ME to sleep. i never grew out of that, i guess. heh.

anyway, she was walking through the aisles, doing her shopping. she took three steps away from the cart to grab something from a shelf, turned around, and her baby was gone. i'm getting the goosebumps again, just typing this. frantic, she ran right to the nearest employee, who gave the signal and the whole store was shut down within minutes. the cops were called in, and they began searching the store.

most cops will tell you that in the time it takes to get to an employee and get the place locked down, the kid is already out of the store and off to who knows where. scary ass shit. and certainly not reassuring by any means, no?

but in this case, when they checked the restrooms, there was the baby - with her head already half shaved and a brand new outfit all set out to put her in. they apprehended the asshole who'd done it, returned the baby to her grateful, panicked mother, and all was well.

can you imagine?? as that mom, i'd be like "okay, step aside and just give me about TEN MINUTES with this fool." give. that. fucker. the. beat. down. of. his. life.

so the moral of the story is, never, never, never turn away from your child(ren) when out and about. not even for a second. hell, that's why i just strap the bean to my person instead of putting her in the cart. that may not fly as she gets bigger, but for now, you'll have to go through me before you can get to this kid.