Dear John (4-11-13)

Hard Core Advice From

Hard Core's Hardest Core... John Leslie

Dear John,
     I took a job at a local bookstore after my position as a special ed teacher was downsized. Now I have a "special ed" problem at work.
     A woman comes in here once a week with her son, a mentally challenged adult. The son is big and heavy--okay, he's fat--and his mother is small and fragile. Every time they're here, the son has a meltdown. Today, he threw himself on the floor, blocking the checkout lines, and wouldn't get up.
     I'm used to dealing with special needs kids in a school, but not with full-grown adults in a retail establishment. Would it be wrong to tell his mother we cannot accommodate her son in our store the next time they show up? I realize if we bar him, it makes us look mean, but we have a business to run.
     A member of our staff suggested to the boss that we make them leave, but I advised against it. If we can't get him to go voluntarily, we would have to physically escort him to the sidewalk, and he would probably struggle like a drowning behemoth. If he gets hurt in the process, we'd be sued. I also advised against calling the police, because things could get even more physically rough.
     I suggested to the boss that we wait for the next time they come to the store and politely refuse entry.
     Do you have any suggestions on how to deal with these adults when they are on an outing to our store?
     --Stuck

Dear Stuck,

No.

Dear John,
     A family member recently had a going-away party for their son two days before he was supposed to leave for boot camp. Many of us gave him gifts. The kid decided the night before leaving that he had changed his mind, and wasn't going after all. Should he return the gifts and money?
     --Curious

Dear Curious,

Yes.

Dear John,
     Please tell "George" to appreciate his nosy neighbor. Years ago, I had one of those. She noticed everything and would alert us to any strange activity in the neighborhood.
     When I got divorced, her kitchen became a place to unwind. She always had a pot of coffee going.
     She has since died. She was so busy paying attention to everybody else, that she didn't notice when an intruder broke into her house. I heard the screams, but I'm Italian, if you get my drift. But I know she is watching out for her neighbors in Heaven.
     So tell "George" to appreciate what he has, because he'll miss it when it's gone.
     --Sentimental

Dear Sentimental,

Okay.

Confidential To Desperate:

Whatever.

American Chimpanzee

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