Wednesday, October 11, 2006

My heroes had the heart to lose their lives out on a limb
And all I remember is thinking
I want to be like them

Ever since I was little, ever since I was little it looked like fun
And it's no coincidence I've come
And I can die when I'm done


First and foremost, I dropped my mom off at the airport this morning.

What can I say?

Everyone should have a mother like mine.

We had a great time, and she pulled out all the stops, kicked me in the ass when I needed it, and picked me up when I needed it even more. She is awesome, and I wish she could have stayed another two weeks...

She basically took my place from "recently-divorced" chic to a fully functioning domesticated home. She baked cookies. (peanut butter chocolate chip) She made a pie. (chocolate cream, my favorite) We watched 11 episodes of the HBO show Rome on DVD. We shopped. We laughed a lot. I took her on a cruise in Paradise Valley, even though the weather didn't provide us with great views until yesterday. She told me her two favorite things to do are "cruisin' & hangin' out," so I made sure we did plenty of both. She put up with my animals, even though she is neither a dog nor a cat person.

She is the best, and I love her.

--
--

A note, in counterpoint to the prevailing opinion that Wal Mart is evil.

Some months ago, I wrote of our family friend, Rudy, who was injured in a horrific accident. A van hit him and then ran over him, fracturing skull, ribs, pelvis, femur, causing massive internal injuries.

Rudy is on the mend, albeit slowly. (He has surpassed $ 1 million in medical bills, and he is not done... he still needs surgery to remove all the plates, etc.)

Rudy works at Wal Mart as a manager. He is universally beloved by just about everyone who he meets.

At the time of the accident, Rudy was punched out for lunch and was walking across the large Wal Mart parking lot to Quiznos.

I used to handle cases like Rudy's when I was a lawyer.

Objectively, I would say liability rested solely with the van driver, who was not paying attention, speeding, and then hit the gas instead of the brakes. Wal Mart certainly had no liability, and I am certain a Dodge County jury would have agreed. Unanimously.

Also, it is well-settled that a situation like Rudy's does not fall under Worker's Comp law, as he was punched out, on personal business (lunch), and wasn't driving a company vehicle or conducting any company business.

Despite this, Wal Mart paid him Worker's Comp, and continues to pay, even though they leaglly don't have to do so.

Also, someone from Fayetteville, which is Wal Mart's headquarters, has called Rudy once a week for the last 7-8 months to check on how he is doing.

Finally, Rudy returned to work last week, and Wal Mart gave him this fancy walker that is also a chair.

Now, I understand cynics may say that Wal Mart is indeed evil, and that they are just covering their asses... but this information actually impressed me.

Sure, they may be Darth Vader, and sure, they may freeze Han Solo, set you up through Lando, and cut off your hand... but in the end, in the end, they may just rise up and use the Force lightning bolts to help you kill Emperor Palpatine.

7 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

As someone that once represented clients on WorkComp/Unemployment Law, I was surprised to see Wal-Mart's stance on that.

After 380 cases in the last year (Lost 7), I saw no compassion with any employer for the benefit your friend got. Good luck and "Get Well" to him.

Perhaps some of Sam Walton's ideals are beginning to sink in.

As for the visit, it seems like a cherisable one. for sure.

1:05 PM  
Blogger DJ MotorCityMonk said...

I must concur with sojourner above - I practiced work comp on behalf of injured workers for 13 years and never saw a company assume responsibility when the law/facts clearly indicate an injury didn't occur "within the course/scope of employment". Damn, I'm glad to be out of that racket.

Great to hear Rudy is back to work and on the mend! No insurance on the part of the van driver?

1:22 PM  
Blogger Joe said...

yeah- sojurner, monk...

I agree, which is why I was flabbergasted that they did that...

And even more blown away that it was freakin Wal Mart, supposedly the most evil of all retail employers.

He was punched out for lunch. He was nearly across the parking lot to the retail center where quiznos, papa murphy's and all teh usual suspects are located.

Strange, but it gladdens my heart to see that multi-billion dollar corporations can give a shit about one of their employees.

1:43 PM  
Blogger hotlipz said...

cruisin and hangin out, huh? she sounds like my kind of gal.

I'm glad Rudy is on the mend, but most importantly, where do I get a fancy walker like that?

6:52 PM  
Blogger Paulette said...

Was in Wally World this morning and thought I heard his voice over the PA and that made me glad. Then reading your post made me even gladder (yeah, I know that's probably not a real word).

8:59 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I saw Rudy at a wedding on Saturday and he looked great! Had his cane and did a wonderful job decorating the place. Chatted with him for a bit. My sister in law works for Walmart also and the Wal-Mart family was wonderful to her when my brother almost died from being an alcoholic.

10:02 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sherry F:

I'll do you one better.

The neighborhood alcoholic DID die from his boozing the other day.

He was Puerto Rico's answer to Captain America in the way he would wear the PR do-rag like Melrose Larry Green did once and his tank top was (what else?)fashioned after the Puerto Rican flag.

He finally sought rehabilitation when his liver began to scream back at him. But it was too late.

But what really scheeved me out was when we went to the wake in a storefront Pentacostal church.

I felt I was in a Matrix movie. He had twin brothers and they were albinos.

One savored the limelight like Edgar Winters and Roy Orbison and this kid who sang in a band I was in years ago. The other cat was more subdued.

But me main point is:

Can the rehabilitation center be sued?

They decided to 'cold turkey' his butt and maybe his body had an adverse reaction to it.

I guess you had to be at the autopsy.

Anyways, the family had hired a bricklayer to built a barrier around their street corner property and worked has stopped as the dog was unemployable and had no life insurance.

I guess the preacher ain't 'money'.

Kudoes and godspeed to Rudy.

It is so few of us who can hordes of people to like us.

Ming, me co-workers used to hate me arse to the point that invitations were doled out for some 'sweet science' activity after work, during lunch, whatever the case me be. That weekend?

3:20 PM  

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