west plains national

Frank (center) packs bags at his new job, between giving hugs.

West Plains made the national news for the first time since teachers were encouraged to carry weapons to school (for safety!) )(terrorists in schools!). This was a better story, so much better that People magazine picked it up from Facebook. A checker at Walmart was fired two weeks shy of his 20th anniversary there. Walmart claimed that it was because Frank pressed price matching on customers ("You can get it for twenty cents less at Hermann's!"). But many people thought that it was because he hugged customers. As a child, Frank had been thrown from a pickup truck, He emerged from the head injury with a way with numbers and great compassion. "Hugs for Frank" became a rallying cry (literally). A followup article in the Quill reported that Frank had a new job at another grocery store in town, and that customers were following him there. I caught him on his second day of work at Ramey's. The other checkers seemed somewhat bemused by the hoopdedoo.