Thursday, June 30, 2005

Indiscreet

Hypothetical: If you were house-sitting and dropped by one morning to find a couple of long-stemmed roses, a pair of crystal wine glasses with a little red still lingering in them, and a receipt for a deluxe box of chocolates in a place that you expected to be vacant - what would you think?
More clues: There was no sign of forced entry. Nothing in the house had been disturbed, just the addition of these objects from "outside." Oh - and one more thing: the eighteen year old son has gone away with his parents.
Here's what I put together: The son had told his buddy that he and his parents were going to be out of town for a few weeks, and if he had any notions about entertaining a young lady friend, he knew where the hide-a-key was.
An alternative notion: Roving bands of serial datists have been terrorizing the neighborhood and they had carefully entered the house by some nefarious means, executed a brief bit of compulsory seduction, and slipped off into the night.
Ockham's Razor is the principle proposed by William of Ockham in the fourteenth century: ``Pluralitas non est ponenda sine neccesitate'', which translates as ``entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily''. In this case, should we ignore the easy connections between the scheming minds of boys in their late teens, or should we instead start a search for the love-bandits. I know that boys will do what they need to do to help their buddies out when they can - especially when it means that a romantic notion can win out over a back seat. I wasn't able to get upset with this kid - I've been that kid. He brought her flowers - he spent twenty-eight dollars on Godiva chocolates. He didn't leave beer cans in and around the house. What really happened that night will be a mystery for all time - tearful farewell? freshman foreplay? innocent rendezvous? A gentleman wouldn't reveal - that would be indiscreet.

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