It's been well
over a year since I met Jim. He and his wife Mary have been gradually
getting to know us and are becoming involved in our lives. Aside from
the growing friendship, I've discovered that Jim and myself have
several common interests one of which is understanding the long and
rich history of our town and what drives and influences it's many
functions. Daily life in our town on the surface seems no different
than that of any other small town. Occasionally though, there is the
odd occurrence that is simply too difficult to explain. We meet in
various capacities throughout each month. There's the business of
community re-development task force that is commonplace for a town
such as ours. Then there's the purely social encounters, many of
which center around a really good cup of coffee at the coffee shop
atop the hill. Jim doesn't drink coffee so in those coffee sessions,
it's his job to represent the tea drinkers and sarsaparilla crowd.
Finally, there are the meetings we have out on our deck at the
resort. These are the meetings where we can speculate, and brainstorm
without the trappings of social convention. Simply put, we can
discuss ideas that would never be considered plausible or even
possible in any normal environment or circumstance. It was at one of
these early morning discussions that we believe we may have scratched
the surface of something so outlandish that only the most conspiracy
driven minds would be willing to comprehend.
This morning,
Jim had Joey in tow..... or perhaps it was the other way around. I've
discovered that it's mostly Joey that takes Jim for a walk in the
mornings. Joey being the 2 pound Yorkie that is pretty sure he's a
Rottweiler. Joey likes to bring Jim to our deck because there are
treats here that he can perform for. We try not to make Jim perform
for treats. Although I think there are days when the smoker on the
deck is cooking that he just might.
We were on the
subject of the hidden forces that seemed to influence decisions and
directions in our town and really having no luck putting our finger
on any one thing. It was then that we had our first subtle hint that
perhaps it was something we had never considered. Joey was the key to
our potential discovery. Without any warning, he let out a low growl.
This was followed by an explosive bolt to the edge of the deck where
he strained at his leash and pressed his head deeply between the deck
spindles to see down onto the parking lot. Certainly it must have
been just another dog. But there were no dogs in site, and no dog
handlers either. What was it that sparked this surge of energy and
intensity?
We laughed at
the ferocity of Joey's outbreak. Jim said that he act's that way
around the neighborhood cats back on the other side of town. Even
though he tries to get at them and chase them, he seems to know
better than to actually catch one. Partly because they are all bigger
than he is, but partly because they also wield fierce weapons hidden
deep within those furry paws of theirs. They are sort of the conceal
and carry version of the animal world.
Sure enough,
there it was, slinking around the dumpster. A cat! It was looking up
at Joey with disdain in it's eyes. How can you detect disdain in a
cat? It's really pretty easy.....They're all that way. They look at
you as if to say “ Just stay where you are and nobody gets hurt!”
I had seen this
cat before. It was a white and gray that likes to hang out at the
various docks down on our side of town. Today was different though.
After staring Joey down, he looked up at me as if to say, “The same
goes for you buddy! …........ And the same for your friend sitting
there with you!” Jim noticed it too. We looked at each other as
Joey ran from one vantage point to another completely winding his
leash into a knot round our legs and the legs of the deck furniture.
Surly it was just our imagination. Did that cat really just threaten
us? We contemplated this in a moment of silence. Jim spoke first.
“You know...... Joey sometimes takes me up the hill past a place
where there are many cats. In fact, you really have to stop and look
closely to see them. They hide and look out from seclusion. I think
it's a bit of a game for Joey, but I enjoy the “count the cats”
routine as much as he seems to.”
Then the next
clue presented
itself....................................................
