Ice buckets and cold feet

Left among the online detritus of the "Runaway Bride" story: the Wilbanks-Mason wedding gift registry, still active at Macys.com. Pick out something nice for them.

So as not to be your basic link whore, I'll toss in my complimentary (and very late) take. First, I'll try to ignore the obvious "excessive media attention for white, female victims" angle. But I would like to mention the sheer entertainment of O'Reilly getting the story wrong while Olbermann got it right.

I have plenty of tolerance and empathy for people suffering from depression. I'm well aware of how it causes people to do irrational (or just plain stupid) things, and I'm often happy to let those irrational things slide. As a trivial example, one of our longtime online gaming friends recently cut ties with a bunch of us, citing depression -- but she continues to visibly play the game with others. Hey, if she thinks it's best for her, I'm cool with it.

When a family member went thru a scary bout with depression/ paranoia several years ago, there were days when she said some pretty unusual and mean-spirited things. If you took these statements at face value, you might have felt hurt by them. But I more or less understood that it was the brain-chemical-imbalance-thingee doing the talking. She got herself into treatment, and she's been doing fine ever since.

I even allow the possibilty that adults in our society should have a right to simply "disappear" if they so choose. About five years ago, a former coworker of mine disappeared. He was a likable corporate exec with a family that was well-known and well-respected for its large number of adopted children. When he never returned home from a meeting, his family reported that he had "no major issues in his life". Several months later, someone spotted him working as a waiter in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Apparently he had just freaked out and decided to start a new life somewhere else. As far as I know, he didn't return to his family, and no charges were filed.

One problem, of course, is the massive, expensive investigation and search that usually follows the disappearance. Especially when you do something really stupid like fake your abduction. Or (in my coworker's case) leave some personal belongings scattered down by the river.

Look, it's ok to be depressed and stupid. It's even ok to cause some hurt feelings by your stupidity. But when it comes time for you to pick your depressed and stupid act, just try to pick one that doesn't cause real harm or real expense to others. Like a $250 Waterford Crystal ice bucket. (wink). Leave somebody a note, then go forth and enjoy your freakout.

You'll have my support.