I’m not sure, but I think my alliteration is great.
When I saw this headline:
My first thought was…
Ew.
CPR on a squirrel? Are we talking the mouth-to-mouth resuscitation thing?
Who knows where that squirrel’s mouth has been, or what she/he has put in it?
Major Ewww.
Then I read on and learned that no, it wasn’t mouth-to-mouth – it was chest compression.
OK, chest compression. On a squirrel.
But why?
The “man” in the headline was Chris Felix, 19, of Brooklyn Park, MN. Recently he was 
driving to work, encountered the squirrel in the street, and his car hit or stunned or something-ed the squirrel with enough force to knock it onto a front lawn, where it landed on its back.
Apparently unconscious, no visible bleeding.
Chris stopped his car, threw open the door, rushed over and squatted down next to the motionless animal. He then did what few – if any – of us would do:
He started applying chest compressions to the squirrel.
A police cruiser happened to be in the neighborhood and when they saw the abandoned
car and the man at the curb poking at something, understandably they were concerned.
The officers stopped and, with body cams recording, approached Chris, who explained what had happened as he continued the chest compressions.
After a short while one of the officers suggested turning the squirrel over, which Chris did, and he began stroking the squirrel’s back.
Shortly after that the squirrel blinked, came around, and dashed for the nearest tree. Happy ending and high fives all around.
We now segue into no happy endings:
What else can I call it but “stupidity,” when people are so in love with their own images – and posting them on social media – that it costs them their lives?
This is according to a recent study by researchers at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, which found that 259 people died while attempting to take selfies between October 2011 and November 2017. “This is just the tip of iceberg,” said the 
study. “Many cases are not reported.”
About three-quarters of the deaths were men, with the study suggesting men were more prone to risky behavior when taking selfies.
The average age of among the 259 people was 22.9 years, but the recorded ages ranged from ten to 68 years.
An article in Rolling Stone called this “The never-ending pursuit of the ultimate shot for social media sharing,” and listed just a few of many stories about just how far people will go to get “that killer shot”:
- Two Russian soldiers in the Urals region west of Siberia posed for a selfie with a live grenade. The grenade detonated unexpectedly. Only the phone with the photo survived.
- A man was gored to death after he left the audience-protected area at the running of the bulls in Pamplona. A bull came from behind and fatally pierced his neck and thigh with its horns.
- In Colorado a pilot lost control of his Cessna 150 while posing to take a selfie. The plane crashed, killing both him and his passenger.
To return to my title’s question, Are these stories related? Perhaps the commonality is life: One is life saving and one is lives lost.
The first story makes sense.
The second story:
None.
I Hate Houseguests 