February 07, 2005
A modern-day fairy tale
Once upon these times, two young maidens in their teens decided that they should stay at home and bake cookies for their neighbors rather than go to a dance where their peers would probably be cursing and drinking. Painstakingly, they worked hard on their altruistic task, carefully decorating the cookies, dividing their handiwork into seven little packages, embellished with red and pink paper hearts on which they wrote: "Have a nice night." Enthusiatically, they delivered their goodies to seven rural neighbors, ringing the doorbell and leaving their little surprises on the front porch.
Within the next few days, they received six thank-you letters from appreciative neighbors. A special "thanks" from the seventh recipient, however, was later delivered in the forrm of a knock on the door from the local constable, who summoned them for an appearance at Small Claims Court.
The pair were ordered to pay $871.70 plus $39 in court costs after neighbor ... [age] 49, filed a lawsuit complaining that the unsolicited cookies, left at her house after the girls knocked on her door, had triggered an anxiety attack that sent her to the hospital the next day.
So, what do you think?
- The intent of these girls was (malicious/virtuous).
- These girls were certainly (encouraged/discouraged) from the perfomance of random acts of kindness in the future.
- The moral of this modern-day fairy tale* is ___________________________. [Suggestions invited.]
*In case you did not check the link, this was an actual occurence.
Yeah, right. I think the lawsuit should have been thrown the heck out of the court for being frivilous. The LAST thing I'm going to do, if I fear a prowler, is leave the safety of my own house to drive to a friend's place to spend the night. I'd be calling the cops to check things out. People like this wretched woman are out to give not only the legal system a bad name, but make people not want to do ANYTHING nice for someone else.
Posted by: John at February 8, 2005 09:30 AMJohn took the words right out of my mind. When I saw this article in the news, I had to shake my head in disgust. I have the strong feeling that WAAAAAAAAHnita was searching for a lawsuit, in the hopes of getting some extra cash.
But as disgusted as I am with her, the fact that the jury even BOUGHT the case at all, and made the kids pay WAAAAAAHnita $900 in medical expenses, leaves me even more sickened. The judge and the jurors who deemed those kids guilty should be slapped soundly about the face.
--TwoDragons
Posted by: Denita TwoDragons at February 10, 2005 11:00 PM