Nothing will change until Rob has nothing to lose

It was a surreal start to the day. I picked up my Globe at the end of my driveway in the morning twilight to see a picture of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford with a crack pipe–apparently taken from a video shot surreptitiously by a drug dealer who sold three pictures to the Globe for $10,000.

Part of the strangeness was the venerable, once-grey Globe buying pictures from a drug dealer. That’s what London tabloids do. The Globe rationalized it, and I agree with them that these pictures needed to be published, but it still feels way weird.

I likely felt groggier than normal because I woke up shortly after midnight and watched San Jose complete the worst collapse in their history of playoff implosions.  I had hoped LA would win–Drew Doughty played for our Guelph Storm–but I didn’t feel  happy. Instead, I felt bad for  Sharks leaders Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau.

Not even the comics were funny today. I turned back to the Ford saga and learned that in addition to the new crack video, there is audio of Ford making sexist remarks about mayoral candidate Karen Stint. Later, I saw reports about cocaine binging.

This morning, his brother Doug announced the mayor is taking a 30-day “break” from everything.

I don’t think the late-night guys will make much of it. It’s not funny. It’s pathetic. It’s been tragic for him and his family for months. Despite what he said about past mistakes and moving on, and even despite this latest embarrassment, it will likely continue–until he hits rock bottom.

That is the way it generally works with addiction. Until he has nothing more to lose, and he fully takes responsibility for his life, he’ll continue to spiral. And, unfortunately, I think he has a long and sorry way to go until he fully bottoms out and we’ll all watch with morbid fascination at this sad and surreal spectacle.