I can't think of anything right now. I think america needs to chill with this whole christmas spending BS though....oh there we go I did think of something.

has the world gone completely mad?
yes. yes it has...

How to tell when christmas has gone to far in your life... That or she really likes christmas music on a 5 hour loop...

There is not much in Gwinnett Ga for a 70 year old woman to do. Sounds to me like we need more social programs to keep people from becoming geriatric delinquents. Maybe some midnight knitting or wheelchair parks.

Seriously I hope one of the cops that escorted her home checks in on her. Sounds like dementia is setting in.

what could she possibly be doing for 72 hours? She had to have covered every square inch of that store several times.

"The woman was escorted home by police after she paid for her merchandise."

If it wasn't for that line I would have assumed she was just homeless. Now I simply shudder at what her home must be like.

@trollkiller: Geriatric delinquents!!! Too funny, thank you!

Wow. I can barely go an hour in Wal-Mart without being pushed to the edge, let alone one day or even three days...

@vaxman: 5 hour loop? I thought it was only like an hour...

It's too bad that annoying high-pitched noise doesn't drive off the seniors like it does the teens!

Instead of kicking her out, you would think Wal-Mart would have dressed her in a happy face vest and put her at the front door asking, Would you like a basket?"

Sure, she was 'there' for 72 hours, but, much like Walmart employees, only 39 counted.

@vaxman: I have 2700 songs in my Christmas collection...are you talking about me?

oh jeez, gwinnett? this was probably my aunt...

Maybe 24-hour stores should alternate between 12 hours of the high-pitched noise to drive off teens, and 12 hours of A&F/Urban Outfitters soundtracks to drive off old folks. Of course, then we'd suffer a plague of hard-of-hearing delinquents standing around pointing knives at us and smoking... so then maybe we'd need 8 hours of bass turned up so high you can feel it move the hairs on your arms, then 8 hrs of the high tone, then 8 hrs of loud rock. Yes. Yes, this sounds like an ideal shopping experience. I will put this in a PowerPoint and pitch it to Wal-Mart.

I tend to think that this is more of an isolated, this-lady-is-insane case, rather than an example of rampant Christmas spending. But maybe I am underestimating Americans' shopping habits.

is there a time limit for how long you can be in a 24 hour wal-mart? not like i'd really want to spend more than a minute in there, but it doesn't really sound like she did anything wrong...

@jodles: That's what I was about to ask. What did she do that was actually illegal? I know a business can ask you to leave if it wants to, but honestly, I don't see why they would do it. Don't they want more money?

I think she was escorted out because she was sleeping there. Do stores assume any liability in a situation where a customer sleeps there and somehow dies? Could it be considered loitering after a significant amount of time in which it's reasonably assumed that someone could've covered he whole store already?

She was escorted home not arrested, I don't think she did anything illegal, I think the cops and Wal~Mart workers were concerned with the old gal's well being.

.

She was obviously caught up in a serious game of Wal-Mart survivor. I wonder if she won.

I think she didn't do anything wrong technically, but spending that much time at a store that you sleep, eat, and use the facilities probably isn't right either.

Did they say what she bought? Being able to buy a pack of gum doesn't mean she's not homeless.

Gwinnett=homeless?

Sounds like a bipolar woman having a manic episode.

Hey, "Live by the sword, die by the sword." American consumers are supposed to spend every waking moment between Thanksgiving and Christmas putting themselves in debt and buying carloads of crap, and this woman was just doing her part.

It's a 24-hour Wal-Mart, and she wasn't breaking any laws.

Personally, I think she's an extraordinary woman, because I can't even stand to spend more than half an hour in a Wal-Mart without losing my mind, and that's in the off-season. This woman deserves some kind of award!

@DrGirlfriend:

Every time I read one of your posts, my mind subconsciously narrates it with that deep voice.

What the big deal? I spent 73 hours in line just the other day.

@jodles: She did sleep there.

Maybe she wanted a Wii...really bad.

Either she has no relatives -- or got a bunch of uncaring relatives. Hope she didnt buy them presents

I can imagine anything I would rather do less than spend 72 hours at Walmart. I cant even stand driving through the parking lot there. Id rather be in jail for 72 hours. At least its quiet and there isnt any screaming kids running around like jackals

Ugh, she must have been pretty ripe after 3 days. No wonder they wanted her to leave.

@kwsdurango: And that was the express lane!

@trollkiller: If the police "Escorted her home", I don't think she was homeless.

Wow. One of the reasons why people from other countries look down upon us Americans.
Baths in sink, food at Blimpies, sounds to me that woman could have gotten away with it if she wasn't so conspicuous. She should have lived in a box between the aisles, preferably someplace in the dead spots of security cameras.

@camman: I think you were aiming at someone else. I never said she was homeless.

I am just glad the store had a Blimpies instead of McDonald's.... can you imagine the havoc that 3 days of Micky Ds would have on a 70 year old intestinal tract.

When my friend got kicked out of her house at 19 for being trans, she spent the overnights in Walmart.

I just have to know - WHAT DID SHE BUY?!?!

she probably didn't even buy that much, considering she would have had to lug all that around.

They come into our towns and stay forever, why can't she go into their store and stay 72 hours if she wants to? I thought that is what they wanted, for everyone in America to be at a Walmart 24/7?

She was probably there because her heat was turned off because she couldn't afford the outrageous natural gas/heating oil/etc.. prices.

Gwinnett is Great! Success lives here! Where it is great, because success lives here, because it is so great...

Ok we need more info on this one! Was her heat turned off at home? WHat did she buy? Was she escaping the holiday hell of screaming grandchildren & annoying relatives at her home? Was she on a holiday shopping marathon? Or was she one of those seniors who isnt all there?

I used to work as a security guard & evey once in a while some elderly person would arrive at a closed store or restaurant at midnight thinking it was noon.... I kid you not!

WoW! She beat my record. My wife and I shopped at a Walmart once for more than 5 hrs. Lol! We must have no life, lol. I can't believe that that old woman beat our record, :-D

that's a nice record to get into the record books....btw,,,merry christmas everyone......

Sad. Even when I am not doing anything, I am trying to think of better, more effective ways of avoiding Wal-Mart.

What about her daughter, Americus Nation?

I'm not sure what happened here. Why such a thing would happen. The police, however, did not arrest her, and for those making statements such as, "just because she can buy a pack of gum doesn't mean she is not homeless," the idea here is that the police ESCORTED HER HOME, leading us to believe she is NOT homeless.

This is sad on many different levels.
1) Walmart stays open 24/7 thus inviting the most bizarre behavior/people.
2) Where was her family? Why were they not concerned with her wherabouts?
3) This is a fine example of how rude and passive we are toward our elderly, three days unnoticed... hmmm... put a goth teen in the store for two minutes and they'll be watched like a hawk.
4) If she shopped for 72 hours did she ONCE get asked if she needed help looking for something? Yet another fine display of Wal-marts, "customer courtesy!!!" But then that would have to mean somebody cared enough to even notice her (refer to number 3)
5) Who brought her to Wal-mart? How did she get there? Did any one citizen, employee, police officer, etc care enough to ask her this?
6) Has Guiness been contacted?
7) To all those big time CEO's, if you care enough to take a poor man's dollar wont you at least care enough to acknowledge them while they're spending it in YOUR STORE!!!!
Merry Christmas to all!!! Spend more time loving and caring!!!

yeah, this wasn't about the shopping, this was about something else. and as for Americans shopping too much, yeah, like I wasn't in Hungary last month, and I didn't see truckloads of people at the 24 hour Tesco at 2am SHOPPING, and then I didn't come back through London, and I didn't see TRUCKLOADS of Brits crowding Harrods and Oxford street station (and its vicinity). NO, that wasn't me eye-witnessing those events. Merry f4#@ing Xmas, US haters. We love you too.