I Think About People In The News

By K.P. Hooker · June 11, 2010

I read the news quite a bit and some news stories are so tantalizing, they just make me barf with excitement. I want to share with those of you who don't check out the news too much. I hope that you will have a feeling that we might refer to as STORY-FORTIFIED! or maybe STRANGER-THAN-FICTION-SMACKED! Grab a gimlet and read on:

1. Aaron Vargas. At the age of 11, his neighbor Darrell McNeill, a boyscout leader and father, takes him on a two-week fishing trip. This is when the sexual abuse begins. McNeill spends years molesting multiple boys, including his own stepson, after plying them with drugs and alcohol. People report his behavior to the police, but nothing is done. As Vargas becomes a man, the physical abuse wanes but McNeill continues to harrass Vargas. Vargas gets married and has a daughter. McNeill offers to babysit his little girl. One night, after a few too many drinks, Vargas goes to McNeill's home and shoots him in front of his current wife. Vargas goes on trial for manslaughter while protesters demand an easy sentence.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/04/06/aaron.vargas.abuse.plea/index.html?iref=allsearch
http://www.saveaaron.com/

2. Now this one is just ridiculous. A Haitian immigrant, Guerdwich Montimere, graduates from High School in Florida after being a star basketball player. At the age of 21, apparently with not much going for himself, he enrolls in a Jr. High in Odessa, Texas (a town familiar to fans of HEROES) saying that he's 15 and homeless. A compassionate basketball coach takes him into his home (THE BLIND SIDE, anyone?). The next year he enters Permian High School, the school that inspired FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS. He acts like a sweet, goofball 16-year-old, though he's 22 now. He averages 20 points a game. Here's where the problems arise: he goes to a basketball tournament in Arkansas and is recognized by some basketball coaches from Florida. He is arrested and charged with a misdemeanor. Was he inspired by these sorts of dramatic sports films and tv shows? Was he hoping to get his own? Did he really think it was ok to have sex with a 15 year old girl?
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/37099543/ns/sports-other_sports/

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/preps/2010-05-16-guerdwich-montimere-arrests_N.htm

3. 20th Century Fox already has their paws on the story of the Barefoot Burglar. Imagine CATCH ME IF YOU CAN starring a feral child. The Barefoot Burglar is a troubled teenage boy who ran away from his home in Camano Island, Washington to live in the wilderness. Since he has left home, he has stolen three planes, a boat, and a car. He learned to fly the planes using manuals and crashed all of them. He has burglarized over 100 private residences for food and supplies including night vision goggles. He is on the lam with no shoes, perhaps because shoes make him easier to track. Maybe if you call Fox, they'll let you write the screenplay.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/03/18/washington.barefoot.burglar/index.html?iref=allsearch
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colton_harris-moore

OK, now finish your gimlet, but don't become an alcoholic writer because that's not glamorous, ok?