Lessons on love, marriage and divorce from Cecil the lion

Cecil the lion and his killer Walter Palmer can teach invaluable lessons about love, marriage and divorce.

First, the facts about Cecil the lion and Walter Palmer as reported by the media.

1. Walter Palmer has a wife and two children and used to be an affluent, trusted dentist in Minnesota
2. Palmer was profiled in the New York Times in 2008 – Stalking a Majestic Beast With an Eye on the Record Book
3. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service convicted Palmer after he admitted lying about a bear killed in Wisconsin in 2009
4. Cecil was a 13 year old lion who was well known and liked
5. Oxford University researchers were tracking Cecil with a GPS tracking collar
6. Walter Palmer paid Zimbabwe guides $55,000 to help him hunt and kill a lion
7. Palmer’s guides dragged a carcass behind a truck to lure Cecil out of Hwange Park
8. It is illegal to kill lions in Hwange Park
9. Palmer shot but failed to kill Cecil with a crossbow
10. After surviving the crossbow, Cecil was tracked for another 40 hours then killed by Palmer
11. Cecil was skinned, his head cut off for a trophy and body abandoned
12. News broke of Cecil’s death and Walter Palmer’s kill
13. Activists protested at Palmer’s home and dental office
14. Palmer issued a statement blaming his guides, denied culpability, closed his practice and went into hiding
15. Zimbabwe called for Palmer’s extradition from the United States to be criminally tried for the kill
16. After investigators for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service called, emailed, tweeted and searched for Palmer at his house and dental office, Palmer allegedly reached out to authorities

Second, the lessons that may be used in love, marriage and divorce

1. People have public personas
2. Pretty public personas can hide character defects
3. Red flags should not be ignored
4. Irreparable harm can be caused before latent defects are discovered
5. People conspire to do bad things for personal gains
6. A person’s true character is revealed in times of crisis or adversity
7. Wrongdoers run from responsibility and waste our time, money and energy
8. Some people lie
9. Poor, uneducated choices can ruin lives
10. Justice can be elusive and hollow
11. Honor is not guaranteed
12. Some people will do wrong until they’re caught