Bass Pro Guy

It seems that a 42-year old Alabama man had a mental episode.

The man crashed his car into the parking lot and then stripped down to his birthday suit and took a dip in the Bass Pro aquarium.

Of course, social media had a field day with it. There were hundreds of posts about the man’s naked body and it certainly appeared that everyone had a great time sharing the video clip.

At first glance, it was comical.

Yet, there’s something weird about laughing at a man’s mental breakdown, and it made me think about the people we see wandering around from time to time who are truly in some trouble mentally.

Around our neighborhood there was a big, strong guy who just looked insane. He had wild, crazy eyes and a perpetual scowl.

The first time I encountered him I went into the conversation believing that perhaps it was just an intense look.

Nope.

He was way out there!

He spoke to me about aliens and how the government was well aware that we’ve been visited by other planets.

While there are tidbits of such information floating around out there, it’s not something normally brought up in a first conversation. I nodded a lot.

When he left the store the clerk said:

“He gives me the creeps. Please, if you ever see just him in the store come in and wait until he goes away, I’m afraid he’s gonna’ take me out.”

“And you’d like me to go with you?” I asked.

Yet she was serious.

The man hung around the neighborhood for months and I certainly saw him camped out in front of the frightened clerk…

…but he’s been missing lately.

“Where’s your buddy?” I asked the clerk after a few weeks went by.

“His family had him put away, Thank God.”

But make no mistake, there are ticking time bombs in every community, and the Bass Pro guy is going to get the help he needs now.

What is even more frightening about it is that sometimes someone in the throes of a mental illness will be able to secure a weapon of war.

That’s something that is truly terrifying.

All fun and games aside.