...or is the global village resulting in global bad behavior?

You can run but you can't hide:

If you have an aversion to crowds, stay away from Mt. Everest. A region formerly populated by only the most serious climbers is now chock-a-block with wannabees and so-called adventure tourists. The 220 deaths on the mountain since Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay made their historic climb in 1953 haven't deterred an army of "adventurers" with more money than sense. Fifty people reached the peak on Friday May 25 with an additional 100 waiting in line. Hold it a minute. Waiting line to reach the top of the world's highest peak? How crazy is that?

All of these climbers seem to have specialities: the first septuagenarian woman, the first blind person (when you meet him please ask him why; because it was there? How would he know?), the first person to ascend without oxygen. One Sherpa has made the accent 21 times. One can soon expect to read about: the first nudist, the first climber to go in the off-season (tougher climb but better rates) and the first person to tweet from the summit.

These climbers and their goofy goals have turned the base camps in Nepal (south base camp) and Tibet (north base camp) into a combination WalMart and landfill. At 5,000 ft. above sea level it requires several days of rest at these places in order to acclimatize, unless you are a Sherpa or a goat. (The primary difference seems to be the goats will climb the mountain at no charge.) As you might imagine, garbage pickup at that altitude is spotty. As a result the place is crammed with empty oxygen containers, Snickers wrappers and abandoned copies of the Mobil Guide to Fine Dining in Nepal/Tibet.

As experienced climbers like myself can tell you (Hey, I once climbed to the very top of Bunker Hill in Boston...without oxygen) climbing a mountain is tough but the return trip will get you killed. This peril is vastly increased by the traffic jam that has been created by all the would-be Hillarys. While you're waiting for your turn the weather can change from friggin' cold to really friggin' cold and your oxygen supply can give out. This is known in the climbing world as SOL or TFB. Either way there's a chance you will become part of the permanent exhibition to be oggled at by next year's crop of intrepid morons. Pretty soon the slope of Everest will look like the Hall of Statues in the Capital except these guys will be reclining.

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And on the subject of idiot tourism we now have too many people visiting the Titanic. That's right, the venerable wreck that remained comfortably undisturbed on the bottom of the Atlantic under 12,415 feet of water for 73 years is now the new "must see" destination. One pair of aqua-boneheads actually got married in a sub just above her decks. This wouldn't be such a problem except some treasure hunters are actually taking pieces home as souvenirs. That's like visiting King Tut's mummy and snicking off his pinkie for a necklace. I mean, would you visit the Great Wall with a chisel? No,wait, forget I asked.

Tourists, and by this I mean American tourists, can't just look at something special, take a picture and move on. They seem to require some tangible proof that they were at the site. I'd like to say that this started when the Berlin Wall came down but it's been going on a lot longer than that. The outer wall of the Tribune Tower in Chicago boasts a piece of the Vatican, the Great Wall, the Taj Mahal, the Alamo and Notre Dame Cathedral. Imagine if everyone helped themselves to a piece of history. The Great Pyramid would be a foundation; the Alamo would be a frozen custard stand and the Taj would be just another smelly town in Western India. You can no longer wander among the great stones of Stonehenge thanks to vandalism. People please...visit the site, take a picture, buy a tee shirt and then go home and bore your friends with tales of travel glory...if you must.

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And finally, a little closer to home we have the case of Mack Wolford. Reverend Mack was a Pentecostal pastor in West Virginia (all those surprised please raise your hands) who planned a good old-fashioned service for Sunday May 26 in an isolated state park. The Reverend envisioned lots of praying, speaking in tongues and, of course, snake handling. Tragically, he did not envision the surly temperament of the snake which bit him. The snake lived. Reverend Mack...not so much.

I know it's bad form to chuckle at the death of another human being and I'm sorry. But seriously, if you're going to handle snakes like they were puppies and then, having been bitten, refuse treatment, it's hard to be shocked and saddened. Wolford, in his defense, was only following the words of the Bible, specifically Mark 16: 17-18. The short version is that faith will save you from snake bites. The quote should probably be amended to read "Faith, and a good health plan, will..." It's not like this is the first time the serpent came out on top. Wolford's father was bitten and died in 1983. The quote that religious snake-handlers should read is from Forrest Gump 6:25-28 "...and the Lord said onto Forrest "Stupid is as stipid does". Amen and hallelujah.