Posted in reply to the post by iaim2xl:
What's even more tragic is the story behind the story. According to a neighbor of Ernie Jenkins, the man who looked like Jesus and whose tarp had blown off his truck, he belonged to a club of men who collected blow-up dolls. These weren't just any blow-up dolls, but they were in fact expensive sex toys that cost approximately $800 each (well, that's when you don't order them with the promo code; otherwise you can get them for $695 each plus tax and shipping. I have a friend who ordered one...)
The club's 12 members, it seems, were holding their annual toga keg party and had planned an overnight where the dolls were going to be the main entertainment. So, Jenkins was not only frustrated, he was downright despondent as he saw the dolls floating away. In addition to representing over $7000 of investment by him and the other club members, it meant the group's entertainment for the evening was headed skyward, meaning he and his friends would have to take matters into their own hands that night.
But the story goes even deeper. Ronnie Spelthunker, one of the group's members, had recently left his wife after declaring to his family that he had fallen in love with another woman. The other woman, ironically enough, was one of the dolls that floated skyward out of Jenkins' truck.
In a later interview by the Arkansas City Herald, Dr. Harold Palm, Spelthunker's psychotherapist, said he thought Spelthunker had been "winning" in therapy to that point. Tragically, however, Spelthunker committed suicide by drinking liquid latex three days after losing the love of his wife.
In a suicide note left at the scene by the empty bottle of latex, Spelthunker said, "I can't live without Layla. Unlike every other woman I've ever known, she really listened to me. I never felt any judgment from her. Yes, I know she was kind of quiet, but sometimes that's what we all need in a partner. I just can't go on."
There's more to this story, of course, but I can't find the link to that article I was reading. Can anyone else locate it and fill us all in on the rest of the details? :wink: