Bai Ling's Shoplifting Bust

Actress Bai Ling was arrested for shoplifting in Los Angeles just recently. She blames the arrest on a love life gone sour.She shoplifted $16 worth of entertainment items,two magazines,and a pack of batteries.

www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp

I can totally understand Ms. Ling's predicament. It is very easy to lose control in the loss of a serious relationship.

Quite a few years ago,I committed a much more serious offense. My wife and I were separated at the time. It was Labor day weekend and I had been drinking heavily. I was on a bad train and couldn't get off.

My wife and I spoke on the phone and the conversation became very heated. I proceeded to get in a vehicle and drive the 35 miles to her location. I was staying in a small town and she was in a larger city. As I was on my way out of town I saw flashing lights in the rear view mirror with sirens. I just kept going; my mind was on just getting to my wife.

Remember,it's Labor day weekend and traffic was heavy. More law enforcement joined the chase; all my mind was set on was talking to my wife.

I passed vehicles on the shoulder and ran bicyclists off the road. I ran a total of five roadblocks and at one point the Highway patrol tried to pull a pit stop maneuver on me which backfired on them. One of their patrol cars ended up wrecked.

I at last hit the city limits and lo and behold there was a multi police car barricade. They had guns drawn ready to shoot me. I finally gained some common sense and stopped.

I realized I had temporarily lost my mind. I had charges pending on me a mile long. After I had payed restitution and apologized for my irrational behavior,I was given a 1-3 year sentence for flight to avoid arrest.

I am not bitter about the sentence; I deserved every bit of it!

My wife and I are now back together. We have been for a very long time. This whole situation actually helped our marriage.

I would suggest before going off the handle to think about your family and friends; the people you will hurt.

Bai Ling is facing consequences for shoplifting. I believe it sometimes is a mindset. People want help,therefore we do just downright stupid things to get that help.

There is other help without doing something stupid. Here are some websites where you can find help:

www.mentalhelp.net/poc/center_index.php

www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/features/7-relationship-problems-how-solve-them

www.mayoclinic.com/health/marriage-counseling/MH00104

I hope that Bai Ling can get through all this and learn and grow from it. Sometimes it takes a major situation to make us take a hard look at our lives.

What I did is nothing to be proud of. I really don't even like to tell people about it, but if it might keep someone from doing something similar, it was all worth it.

Please don't condemn Ms. Ling for this; Love will make you spin in ways you never would have before. My prayers are with you Bai! All you can do is learn from your mistakes.