Evacuated Walmart parking lot.

Sounds like a drug deal gone wrong. They met at a Walmart parking lot to do their business, the public panicked and three bystanders ended up at hospital. It turned out to be a sting operation.

Hero beekeeper mops up stray bees and saves shoppers. (KOCO News)

The deal was a Saturday morning bee hive sale. The bystanders were stung and taken to a hospital. I suppose that the guys making the swap thought the Oklahoma City Walmart parking lot was a safe and convenient place to do some beekeeping. Definitely convenient, but apparently three hives were changing hands when something went dreadfully wrong. Bees got loose, people were stung, and the fire department was alerted. The guys with hoses called guys with veils as reinforcement. The Walmart had to close until the situation was secure. I watched the news videos – it looks like fire trucks, an EMSA van, several beekeeping trucks, and assorted police and emergency people were involved. Along with the hospital care for the sting victims and the big box store’s lost business, this must have cost everyone a few thousand dollars. There really are no other details about this weekend’s mishap, but you can read the story here, if you must.

I’ve done some similarly dumb things that sounded sensible during the planning stage.   This one is pretty embarrassing.  And I don’t want to sound mean, but it’s people like this who make the Walmart experience bad for everyone. In other news, the city of Philadelphia is asking residents not to swim in trash dumpsters.