A Case of There is No Case

Deputy Frank and Sam

The case is we have no case just now. Only routine patrolling in the forest. Some evenings with the Regulars at Rusti's. Other evenings chasing the muse, so to speak. So instead of a Case we will share some notes we made about time spent with people you have come to know.

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Lonestar and I met at Rusti’s the other late afternoon for some Valley Red for me, coffee for Lonestar, and talk. This was another time Lonestar got philosophical. When he does I listen. His last job as interim pastry chef at the County Club got him thinking about Time. Lonestar likes to talk about Time.  The regular Pastry Chef had suffered a crisis of confidence. Chef is whole now and will be back Monday, freeing Lonestar. Like I said, I listen.

“Frank you have a lot of time to think while you are making pastry. Pastry exists, but a particular pastry doesn’t exist until I make it. You can say there is the 'idea of the pastry.' Somewhere in the heavens is the Ideal Pastry. And because there is the flour, lard, sugar and so on down here there is the potential for pastry. Here on earth the pastry is both  becoming and being. And so I make it. And it exists. It had descended into Time. Time starts for the pastry when it is complete, ready to eat, and lasts to the present moment.  There is no time for the pastry in the future. The edge of Time is the present. 

So it not possible to say what the pastry is destined for in the future. The future is not part of time. You can say the pastry is to be eaten by a lovely lady tomorrow morning, or to go stale and go into the trash, or to be rescued and eaten by Lonestar. It is all unknowable because those possibilities are not yet in Time.”

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Mary Fuss, retired Confidential Secretary, lives now in one of the new developments just at the edge of town. This area has wide sidewalks and frequent small parks, all ideal for walking. However, it is against the law to go for a walk in this town without a dog on a leash. You might wonder about couples. Yes OK if they walk one dog, but the one not holding the leash can't be more than five feet away from the other holding the leash.

If you go walking by yourself a policeman might pull over and get out of the car. The officer will ask you if your dog, sick at home, is OK. Then offer condolences. But If you don’t have a dog you will be issued a written warning. The officer might also give you a handout that has photos of dogs that are available for adoption. The Officer will also tell you about the small store on Main Street that opens very early and where you can rent a dog for the morning’s or evening’s walk. Sometimes local volunteers will walk with several dogs, offering strangers without a dog one to walk. Mary likes to walk and share and get information with all the other dog walking people she meets. Mary owns several dogs, just in case.

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