On Tuesday, June 21, 2005, Jennifer Wilbanks, her "fiance" John Mason, and Today Show's perky Katie Couric sat down for a one hour interview.
The public's questions about the runaway bride would finally be answered. Jennifer and John would declare their perfect love for each other. Katie would not balk at tough questions.
NOT!
Although The Wise I does not want to be mean to Jennifer. Indeed for all the public outcry and ridicule, I'd suggest that most of us would be willing to at least listen. It was a desperate act. We understand desperate acts out here in la-la land. We understand that people resort to desperate acts usually under desperate circumstances.
A father steals a bag of groceries for his hungry children. Hey, we get it.
Jennifer Wilbanks steals goods from legal merchants. We don't get it.
Beyond the shoplifting, we're really not getting Jennifer Wilbanks and her motives for leaving her family to worry and her fianc to be under a cloud of suspicion.
Last Tuesday's interview did nothing to help the cause.
Except we know a young woman carefully plotted an "escape" from her wedding. She ran off, leaving behind a wedding party of fourteen bride's maids and over 500 guests. If Jennifer had been running from her serial murder fianc for whom she carried a deathly fear from the recent discovery, this might have made sense.
And while Jennifer claims she had no idea there was such a national search and so much angst for her, The Wise I is a little bit skeptical.
"There is no TV on the bus," Wilbanks explained.
Although this is not necessarily true as I've been on buses with TV's. They were chartered affairs, yes, but in today's technologically advanced world I wouldn't call that statement a given.
For the sake of argument, however, I'd concur that the Greyhound bound cross country had no TV.
Article comments
1 - Nancy
An even bigger mystery is why that equally goofy, half-wit fiance of hers continues/d to "stand by her". In any event, they should not be allowed to breed and perpetuate themselves. Pity the judge couldn't have sentenced her to forced sterilization instead of community service. Definitely sterilization would be community service, in her case. Neither one of them is worth our time or pity.