Fire unalarm

Walking into Old Navy yesterday, I was faced with a choice. The fire alarm had been set off inside the store, making shopping for shorts a bit more of an ordeal. But since no one inside the store seemed bothered, I decided I could tough it out.

But this was no ordinary smoke detector alarm. This was the same fire alarm sound you might find in junior high -- so loud, even Michael Brown wouldn't have pulled the fire alarm as a joke. But according to Summer the still-perky cashier, one little girl had. Summer said the little girl was sitting in a shopping cart and as they slowly passed by the alarm box, the little girl pulled it. The mom, looking back at Summer, made a quick decision and bolted out the front of the store.

As loud as it was, it seemed not to affect anyone. One woman took a half-step inside, heard the noise and rethought her decision to come in. But after just a moment, she came in, as if to say, "I know it's loud, but swimsuits are 25% off, and who could pass up that deal?" Even closer to the piercing sound as I was checking out, one lady, perhaps a friend of Summer, strolled up and asked how she was doing. "Oh, I'm good, what about you? Are you OK." The lady said she was. I ran for the exit.