Monday, May 02, 2005
Got a wife and kids in Baltimore, Jack.
I love stories about people who just flip out and take off. At least, I love the ones where people don't get hurt. For example, a few years ago, one of my fraternity brothers who lived in a small Southern town, just disappeared. His family and friends spent several days trying to locate him before a search of his credit card use showed that he was in Vegas. It turns out that he had taken every cent he owned (including those earmarked for bills and rent), drove across the country, and had been gambling since he arrived in Vegas with only time off to sleep. He had been way up, then back down, then back up, then he finally lost it all. His father had to fly into town and drive him back home.
I'm also reminded of another fascinating story I read years ago in Montana. It seems that some 16-year old girl just showed up one day in Billings, MT. When she got there, she somehow managed to wheedle her way into living with this family in a trailer park. She took care of their kids, started dating a local 15-year old boy, and began attending high school. She eventually moved into another trailer with another family, and everyone agreed that she was an asset to the mobile home community. Everything was Peaches & Herb until the high school principal received a letter one day. The only thing in the envelope was a picture of the girl, wearing a cap and gown, and standing behind a cake that read "Congratulations Class of 1990!" Approached about the picture, the girl admitted that she was 23 years old, had graduated high school years before, and had spent the intervening years in a funk longing for a return those glory days. Since she looked young for her age, she concocted this plan to relive her high school dreams, until a mysterious picture brought her back to reality. The bizarre post script to this story is that she was killed a couple days later -- shot with a rifle inside a trailer by her 15-year old boyfriend.
I suppose that if either of these people had been of Jennifer Wilbanks' social stature they would have at least made statewide news. It's the girl's story that fascinates me the most, because she was able to disappear into America. It makes me wonder how many other people have "gone out for cigarettes" and never returned. It also makes me wonder if any of them get away from what's chasing them.
I'm also reminded of another fascinating story I read years ago in Montana. It seems that some 16-year old girl just showed up one day in Billings, MT. When she got there, she somehow managed to wheedle her way into living with this family in a trailer park. She took care of their kids, started dating a local 15-year old boy, and began attending high school. She eventually moved into another trailer with another family, and everyone agreed that she was an asset to the mobile home community. Everything was Peaches & Herb until the high school principal received a letter one day. The only thing in the envelope was a picture of the girl, wearing a cap and gown, and standing behind a cake that read "Congratulations Class of 1990!" Approached about the picture, the girl admitted that she was 23 years old, had graduated high school years before, and had spent the intervening years in a funk longing for a return those glory days. Since she looked young for her age, she concocted this plan to relive her high school dreams, until a mysterious picture brought her back to reality. The bizarre post script to this story is that she was killed a couple days later -- shot with a rifle inside a trailer by her 15-year old boyfriend.
I suppose that if either of these people had been of Jennifer Wilbanks' social stature they would have at least made statewide news. It's the girl's story that fascinates me the most, because she was able to disappear into America. It makes me wonder how many other people have "gone out for cigarettes" and never returned. It also makes me wonder if any of them get away from what's chasing them.
Centinel 2:06 PM #