Wal-Mart is back in the news this week with the bribery scandal in Mexico. Think about the Wal-Mart you probably visit a few times a week. How many employees work there? Make a guess. Floor salespersons, checkout people, customer service personnel, cart collectors in the parking lot, security agents that you don’t recognize, and office clerks that you don’t see. Remember there are three shifts, so triple the number of your calculation. And, there is possibly more than one store in your community, so how many employees do you think are in your local area? You’re probably not too far from a Wal-Mart distribution warehouse that employs scores of workers. Oh, and what about all the drivers of those trucks you are constantly getting stuck behind? Now, expand your count to all Wal-Mart facilities nationwide. Don’t forget the thousands in the national headquarters. Did you forget about the thousands of overseas employees? So, how many people in the world do you think get a paycheck from Wal-Mart?

After learning about the cancer diagnosis of a loved one, most of us have the same thought: what can I do? Frequent conversations with the cancer victim are a must for encouragement and sympathy. Whether through visits or phone calls, lots of communication from friends and relatives is essential to cancer patients. Taking prepared food on occasion is very helpful. Sending flowers brightens the otherwise challenging day for most cancer sufferers. I would like to recommend something else you probably haven’t thought about—a small gift that would be most useful to that special person in your life who is undergoing treatment.