A spaced out love triangle

That's a story that will definitely leave you agape with wonder: a love triangle with three astronauts, jealousy, cross-country car rides, guns, wigs, kidnapping, whatnot. And it starts in space:

Navy Capt. Lisa Marie Nowak, who was a mission specialist aboard the space shuttle Discovery in July, and Colleen Shipman were both reported to be "in a relationship" with astronaut Bill Oefelein, a Navy commander, according to a police report of the incident.

Being an astronaut obviously makes a dangerous enemy. Capt. Nowak was very methodical in her preparations to settle the account with her rival Shipman:

Approaching the stop, the officer observed Nowak put some items into a trash can, the report said. Those items included a wig and a plastic bag containing a carbon dioxide-powered BB pistol, the report said. Inside a bag Nowak was carrying, the officer found a tan trench coat, a new steel mallet, a new folding knife with a 4-inch blade, 3 to 4 feet of rubber tubing, large plastic garbage bags and about $600 in cash, the report said.

While each of these items could be explained separately (and I don't doubt that the defense team will dispose of the whole collection easily), taken together they made me wonder about the versatility of this set in regard of the entertainment program that was prepared for Ms. Shipman.

The level of lady astronaut ire could be estimated by her readiness to make an exceedingly long and exhausting trip for the purpose of revenge:

Nowak drove from Houston, Texas, to Orlando to meet Shipman, who was flying the same route, to talk with the woman about her alleged relationship with Oefelein, the report said.

The meticulousness of Capt. Nowak preparations reaches its peak in this detail:

Inside the car, police found ... diapers that Nowak said she used to eliminate stops along the highway...

Literally nothing was forgotten, and the whole plan was ruined by a small, but crucial mishap:

Shipman told police that she arrived at the airport at about 1 a.m. but had to wait two hours for her luggage to arrive.

The delay was crucial not only to the narrative of the story and its happy (or unhappy, depends on the angle) end. It also presents the Nowak's defense team a beauty of an argument that will let Ms. Nowak off scot-free. After all, she claims that "she was not trying to cause any bodily harm to Ms. Shipman and that she only wanted to scare Ms. Shipman into talking with her".

Two long hours of waiting for Ms. Shipman when Ms. Nowak obviously ran out of spare diapers - really, that will make an angel lose his/her balance.

What can I say: the behavior some airlines allow themselves theses days... Really, Ms. Nowak should sue the airline that is responsible for the whole brouhaha. Shame on them!

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