As I write this, the number 1 story trending online is... Dr. Phil's stolen car. It seems the good Doctor's '57 Chevy needed some transmission work. Even though he's a DIY kinda guy, these repairs were beyond Phil's skill level, or perhaps the capacity of his tools. (Imagine the car up on jack-stands with a leaking transmission in a chain hoist, curbside at his Beverly Hills Estate, and Phil in a greasy coveralls splayed belly-up on a creeper, feeling around the asphalt for his torque wrench. Sure.).
So, he had the classic loaded onto a flat bed truck at his estate and shipped to a repair shop in Burbank. And there it was stolen. Appraised value, $100,000. It's enough to make any man - even Dr. Phil - seek counseling.
But let's do the math. Phil's yearly income is estimated at $80 million. As a percentage of that, his classic Chevy represents... a pittance.
For someone with an annual salary of say, $80,000 per year - which would be one tenth of one percent of Dr. Phil's salary - a comparable loss of his prized Chevy would be... $100. So, it would be an annoyance, but not a catastrophe.
The real story here is not Dr. Phil, who is entitled to drive any car he chooses and go postal if it is purloined - or not. What's alarming is what trends as news in America these days. Following Dr Phil's automotive tragedy is the revelation that Queen Lizzie wears a hoodie and Jessica Alba got a haircut. Those are hot stories # 2 and 3. hanta virus killing campers in Yosemite? A typhoon in South Korea? Not even on the "journalistic" radar.
As I recall, Britney Spears boob job was the national obsession the day the day before 9/11. It's great to have fun but, a little perspective, please?
