Maybe Next Time I'll RSVP In The Negative

I am not a fan of Showers. I cannot bring myself to coo over yet another dish setting. I do not know, nor do I care, what a "Diaper Genie" is. I've been told "when it's your time, you'll feel differently", but I'm going to go out on a limb and swear that the shower gene is not one I inherited.

Pushing 30, I'm at the age where many of my beloved friends are hosting or being celebrated at these events and so I've diligently hunted down respectable items on registries and even "Oohed" a few times. I've become quite the competitive player during the inevitable rounds of games. But mostly, I just show up in black and sip the complimentary Pinot Grigio.

That said, I nearly choked on my afternoon Starbucks fix when I saw the following headline on cnn.com:

"Pregnant woman beaten at baby shower"

"Aristotle Garcia, got into a fight with a man who is dating his ex-girlfriend. The argument, over whether the woman let their 5-year-old daughter drink beer, escalated and drew in two other people -- Jazz Rivas and Juan Velazquez. When the baby shower's hostess tried to intervene, Rivas began hitting some of the guests, including the 22-year-old mother-to-be, with a large stick. Velazquez fired a gun in the air, then fired it into the crowd, hitting Garcia in the stomach."

Not to worry, everyone's in stable condition and the mother-to-be is doing fine.

Seriously, kind of crowd is this? A - Men at a shower? B - A guest BEATS the pregnant guest of honor with a STICK?

It should be noted that this incident took place in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Brings new meaning to the term "Massholes" doesn't it?