Beware the story you don't see

There is a story making the newswires about a woman who was fired after seeing her husband off to war. Here's a snippet:

A woman who took an unpaid leave of absence from work to see her husband off to war has been fired after failing to show up for her part-time receptionist job the day following his departure.

It always pays to be careful with stories like this. Most employers have the common sense to know what a storm of public sentiment they would bring upon themselves for firing a woman for seeing her husband off to war. There is much more to this story than meets the eye. First, she was expected to show up for work the next day and she did not. Second, the employer says there are other factors involved in the discharge. In this case, I believe them. If they are guilty of anything, it is stupidity. If the woman deserved to be fired, they should have done it, but not at that time or for that reason.