Ryan Dunn R.I.P.

I don't know why I even care, but when I heard that Ryan Dunn, one of the stars of MTV's "Jackass" was killed yesterday morning in a fiery car crash I was upset. At first I thought it was a prank (a very bad taste prank, but then this is Jackass) but as the day wore on I realized it wasn't. I've followed these guys through all three movies and the whole series of Jackass. The reality flavor of the show tempered the stupidity. Dunn was one of the more level-headed guys - he knew what they were doing was dangerous and stupid and yet he still participated.

Just because he acted like a Jackass in front of the camera doesn't mean he was in real life - if one can even have a real life spent in front of a camera.... His death saddened me, but not for me. No, I was imagining the impact on his lifelong friend Brandon "BAM" Margera and his parents. They must all be devastated, especially given the manner of death (likely to be a closed casket funeral if they are planning one). Ryan is the first of the Jackass crew to meet an untimely end, and not likely to be the last. It's all fun and games until someone loses a playmate...

I really wonder who his passenger was - no one has even mentioned the person's name yet. I hope this wasn't a tragic DWI accident, but the reality of this all was that Dunn had tweeted a pic of himself and some others drinking mere hours before the accident.

My only hope is that the others wise up. This event is likely to change things for them. The reality of death always stifles that giddiness of stupidity they seemed to always portray. Of all the cast members I identified with Ryan Dunn the most and felt for him as he suffered through the indignities. May he rest in peace. To Bam I say only this: Reconsider the important things in your life, go home and hug your wife and parents and tell them you love them dearly then reflect on the time you had with a good friend. Console those he left behind and then pick yourself up and become a better person for the experience.