by
Alex Russel, All About Lawns Columnist
It's not every day that lawn mowing makes it into the cable news headlines. According to the Associated Press, infamous runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks spent a day fulfilling her community service cutting lawns at her local courthouse. Hundreds of TV cameras filmed her as she did it. Sporting an orange vest and a baseball cap, Wilbanks did part of her court-ordered community service for lying to police after she ran off days before her wedding.
"I'm doing well. ... I'm getting there," a sweating Wilbanks told a throng of reporters and photographers after her lawn mower died out in the tall, wet grass. "I need to get back to work. I don't want to get into trouble."
Lawn Mowing Star
While cameramen and producers looked on, her lawn mower kept sputtering out, prompting her to repeatedly yank on the pull cord to get it started again. After the eighth time, she let out a frustrated sigh.
Wilbanks was ordered to do 120 hours of service, 24 of which she has already completed by cleaning toilets in probation offices, picking up trash, and washing public vehicles.
Lawn Mowing As Community Service
Wilbanks, 32, made world headlines when she disappeared four days before her scheduled wedding in April with 600 invited guests. Hundreds of police officers and volunteers--including members of the wedding party--searched for her for three days.
She called her fiancé, John Mason, from Albuquerque, N.M., early in the morning of her planned wedding day, claiming to have been abducted and sexually assaulted. She soon recanted her story, saying she fled because of personal issues.
Sources
Alex Russel is a freelance writer living in Brooklyn, NY. Since
graduating from Syracuse University he has worked at many different
media companies in fields as diverse as film, TV, advertising, and
journalism. He holds a dual bachelor's degree in English and History.
