Even a Cat Will Do

I’ve mentioned the process part of mystery solving, but haven’t really discussed it much. Process is a bit like that friend of a friend with a great personality that everyone tries to set you up with. Technique is sexy, philosophy is deep—but process? Meh. Time and time again, a particular type of process enabled me to solve the most difficult clues, mind-benders that I never would have solved otherwise. My most valuable process by far is the use of a sounding board.

Roughly once a month while working for various tech companies, a coworker would wander into my cubicle and sit down completely exasperated saying something like, “I can’t figure it out! It makes no sense! I’ve tried everything!” They would proceed to explain the problem to me in terms I could understand, including background information and pertinent details—and then at some point they’d stop mid-sentence, their expression turning to resolve, and they’d say, “That’s it! That’s why it’s failing. It’s the only thing that makes sense!” And then they’d leave saying, “Thanks so much! You’re the best!” All of this would happen with me saying next to nothing. 

A sounding board doesn’t have to be a person. It can be a notebook, a blog, a whiteboard, or even a cat will do—but it has to be something. I know that process is not exciting. Though if you pitch it to yourself as, say, details to share on social media or your memoirs that you'll publish when you become famous, then it might actually be fun. I knew I would eventually want to share my analyses, so I organized my thoughts in note form, and that made all the difference!

It was only in trying to describe how the word “beckons” tells us which way to go, that I realized that it doesn’t.  It’s only a suggestion. The verb “beckons” merely means that the path calls to us. If we are standing at one end of a path, we would interpret “a path beckons to mica and driftwood” to mean that the path containing mica and driftwood at the other end is calling to us. However, if we read the sentence from the perspective of being on a path already, in the middle of said path, it then could mean that the path calls to us from two directions, from mica in one direction and driftwood in the other. The Virginia Dare Monument is on the path that connects the Visitors Center to the Waterside Theater. We would expect to find driftwood on the shore, by the theater. Maybe heading south toward the Visitor Center will take us to mica in some fashion. Maybe.

Under that

Which may be last touched

Or first seen standing

To the best of my knowledge, this riddle has never been solved. That being said, it is my favorite riddle in the whole world because there are actually two ways to solve it, both giving us the same answer! How cool is that?!

Welcome to Level 4.