EMOTIONS ARE COMPLICATED
Tuesday, April 12, 2011 at 11:27AM We all have emotions, and each of us reacts to those emotions in different ways. In times of extreme emotion, we seek safety and stability.
Thus, upon receiving the report of the Idaho expedition, Dodge's glass, the newly-missing 12…well, I experienced many emotions, and I reacted emotionally. For me, the safe place was a dumpster behind the old Hormel factory in Beloit. I nestled my trembling body amid those smoky smells, curled up in a ball, and slept for a week. (It's possible I also snacked occasionally — my memory is fuzzy.)
Most of you reacted differently, fortunately. Juliett, CosmicJay, Popper, DMonty, Theda, others — your unvanquished spirit is inspiring, and your early sleuthing is provocative. Dodge himself would have been proud — I mean, if Dodge wasn't a devious fink.
Other others of you reacted in another way, going to your own safe place, your own Hormel dumpster of demoralized suspicion. I understand discouragement — surely we have all experienced that many times throughout this jewel-encrusted rollercoaster. But to call into question a fellow Deducer? The lack of decorum is troubling, discouraging… and suddenly a familiar smoked-meat aroma wafts into my nostrils, and my eyes go hazy… Don't send me back into that dumpster, Deducers! Not now, when we need each other most!
So. After a year-long quest, beginning with a devious thievery, then an even more devious thievery, and then eleven-and-a-half heroic unearthings, we now come to a fork in the path. One path is Acceptance, with a tinge of Defeat, perhaps leading to a chasm of Rotting Smoked Meats. The other path is Riskier, perhaps leading to Madness, especially considering the Price of Gas These Days. This path is only for those maniacal sleuths who are personally offended by the notion that Dodge sleeps easy, snuggled under covers with his emerald 12.
Two paths diverge. It's a tough decision, and each of us must decide for his or her self. I personally will now sequester myself in the pantry; when the pistachios are all gone, my own choice will become clear. I suggest you all do the same (the pistachios may be replaced by cashews or peanuts — but NOT almonds, trust me, it doesn't work).
Reader Comments (153)
Reading "The Four Quartets"...and wondering about its implications...
It seems that each poem gave a similar idea:
"The end is the beginning"
Anyone else who has read the entire work, may come to a different conclusion.
But it does seem that the poem wants to convey the notion that
time past and time future are all in time present.
Until we unravel this mystery of "time"...we will be only chasing a confused dream.
Gus,
You have answered my main question...
You will not bestow the honorific of "finder" on Dodge...
and do not declare the "12" to be considered "found"
until someone other than Dodge has it in their possession.
Thanks for that clarification.
AP
Gus, I'm disappointed that you didn't visit if you were in the area!
So many emotions. That dastardly devious Dodge. Where to turn next?
Gus, why did you hide out in Beloit? Do their dumptsters have better donut scraps than other dumpsters?
Maniacal sleuth or acceptance and defeat? What a choice: I want to be the latter, but fear I am the former.
Is there such a thing as a just plain tired maniacal sleuth?
wow, I'm running out of gas too and my tired eyes just read the line about "eleven-and-a-half-heroic unearthings" as elven half-orcs here on earth!
I jumped into a few dozen dumpsters today if you can believe it. I didn't find much to fuel my desires...lots of recycling and stryofoamy bits. One oddity was finding a Christmas tree discarded 4 and a half months after, not even that dried out. Anyways, It's just a job, I'm fortunate to have it. I'm a maniacal sleuth type, and so I won't give up until Dodge is caught.
Thanks, Gus. I think you answered the vital question, what everyone— regardless of emotional orientation, really wanted to know. The 12 is out there..........
Two paths????
Two locations????
Two solutions????
Gemini
Popper - could you verbally map your way to the location
I looked at the site via google map and based on your post
I see two cleared areas NE outside of rest area
Gus - chilling or salt - either way it's still to far
Almonds don't work, eh? I think that's the first kind of food Gus has recommended against.
Why don't almonds work Gus? Or is this a clever code, and you're trying to tell us that not all nuts are welcome to post comments here?
Sometimes, as my boys squabble over some invented game, I have to remind them that creative games require negotiations and rethinking. If you want a game where all the rules are spelled out for you, go pull out a board game and read the inside of the box.
And now I am trying to think outside of the box. And to do that I return to the book. Dodge left us his magnifying glass which immediately makes me think of his statement about dropping his magnifying glass and returning to Washington to fish. But it also brings to mind the magnifying glass that was "stolen" from Travis Pupkin and found on the third floor in Rosa's apartment. Is it possible that the trail of "stolen" or relocated objects will lead us to the 12? Would Dodge take Pupkin's magnifying glass "as evidence" then plant it in Idaho? Keep in mind, Pupkin said it was "just like yours, Mr. Dodge, sir." Could they be so similar as to include the same name engraved on the rim?
Also... right next to the blackboard on the first floor that has proven so helpful, there is a pink book with a magnifying glass on the cover. What does this all mean? I have no idea! But perhaps you clever deducers can make something out of this.
Jessica Lee...
I'm on the same track. I have spent most of my time on the drawings, now I am all about the story. Dodge was on his own at times when Gus was drawing. Remember when he was in Jigsy's apartment knocking over the milk bottles with a baseball? He won a purple unicorn. Maybe one less unicorn is a clue... Dooley had the drawing of a unicorn in his book on the 9th floor. I am investigating Travis and Ternky, and some things about the gorillas. How did Dodge know Munari had the 12? Did he change things on the floor to distract Munari? Dodge also said the only innocent people were Bud and Gus. We all know Dodge is guilty, but what about Gene and Ternky?
I’m in Idaho and still hoping that the 12 is reburied nearby! I checked US 20, 178 yesterday near Sun Valley. (I was thinking about the Express newspaper). There was etching on a tree, of a goblet (13th floor) and the initials PYC. The etching seemed old but we still dug, my first dig and I am telling you, nothing to be found, but it was fun!!! I also stopped at I 84, 171 near Jerome (again). The only thing we found was a medicine bottle in a tree that said…”Sorry, look again”. It was too shabby looking to seem to mean anything from TCWAF…. but something interesting nonetheless. So as unfruitful as it was, it was a great day! Then we went shopping in Twin Falls!
Munari pretends to be Betamax the robot butler. Maybe he was moonlighting as Ternky's butler and forgot to put the vacuum away while he was busy snooping for the safe combination. This whole business reminds me of a Michael Cain / Demi Moore film where the cleaning man steals all the diamonds by putting them in the wetvac and then flushing them down the drain so he can get through security witthout any fuss. He then recovers the loot by going into the sewer under the building. Everyone must've agreed to not drain any water during and immediatly after the heist for fear of flushing the emeralds into the main sewers and beyond. Munari had first pick, since he pulled the caper. That's how Dodge knew.
Here's my theory: By the time Dodge left the 11th floor, he'd figured out what was going on--i.e. the whole S/H/M thing. He decided to dig up the numbers himself and rebury them somewhere, and leave clues on the lower floors which he knew Gus would unknowingly record in his sketches. He grabbed a bunch of pink doughnuts from this floor, and then left them on the lower floors where he left clues. The clues he left would have to be things that he could do quickly--he can't repaint a room in a few minutes and without anyone noticing, but he can make 5 in wood chips. So I think we should focus on the floors with pink doughnuts, and look for clues that are rearrangements that could have been done quickly. These will lead us to where the 12 is buried. One thing doesn't fit though, which is the fact that there's a pink doughnut on the 13th floor. Not sure what to make of that....
Jessica Lee - Rosa tse-levy does know something.
It's written on the wall as in ........
eye....nuh....O, over the paint
William..
My thoughts were... the drawing in Rosa's apartment meant Idaho.. Eye duh O. Her stolen figurine was found on the 9th Floor. That is why I always thought (and wanted to think...) that the "12" was buried there.
Juliett - yes, but translate her name
Look closely at the drawing on the blackboard on the first floor.
It is of the 13th floor....and something is being put into a vase.
Just what is the sandbox-looking thing below, from which an
arrow is coming up to the 13th floor? And why is there an arrow
coming up from the area by the "Fudo-Myo-o" sculpture when
there isn't any window or exit there?
We definitely are being told that the "end is the beginning and the
beginning is the end"...from the Four Quartets.
13th floor and 1st floor....
Yilloslime... good thoughts. Here's a list of other things that seem to be "rearranged" on other floors:
13: Wet/Dry Vac and missing framed artwork
12: No donut
11: Apple/Orange/Apple/Cup arranged on bed, Pineapple behind the TVs, Box of Elbows?
10: No donut
9: The numbers 8 and "one" in wires that seem to be unused in the S/H/M solution
8: Uhhh...
7: Not sure...
6: No donut
5: Uhhh...
4: Five in the woodchips
3: Two donuts
2: Broken ladder rung
1: Lemons atop the clock and chest, rubber boots next to the blackboard, crystal ball behind the clock
Observation:
The only floor that has a rectangular room in its center is the second floor.
The sand-box area (in the first floor blackboard drawing) looks like it may be the
"aquarium" with the broken ladder.
There is also a ladder drawn on the first floor blackboard.
The part of the drawing on the 13th floor urn appears to be a figure
looking down into a pot. The markings to the right of that figure can
possibly be a "G" and a "Z"...or a ""2".
AP, you got this, keep up the fantastic sleuthing!
I believe the Ternky Tower sewer main was temporarily shut off and Kriegers fish were allowed to swim through the pipes along with the flushed numbers. The tennants then had fun fishing Kriegers aquarium and each took a fish back to their apartment to have a meal. After plucking their numbers from their dish they used the leftovers to fertilize their potted plants. Then they departed for their secret locations.
Oh wait, now I see it. Roy Dodge knows fish.
Out here in Oregon I've seen lots of fish ladders. Fish actually jump up the staggered steps of running water. Its cool to watch...maybe you can find something on youtube if you need to see it for yourselves.
I believe Munari coordinated with Krieger to flush the numbers into the plumbing (lead pipes?) While Manzarek released his fish. They would naturally "rise together" to climb the building's water pipes eventually intercepting the flushed numbers and emerging onto the rooftop's cistern. The fish consumed the numbers along the way and a hungry group of folks waited on the roof waited with bbq sauce in hand.
Eric, seriously, if TCWAF people ever write another treasure hunt book, they should get in touch with you for some creative story ideas.
In response to Buck’s ideas, I also have been thinking about the “things that don’t belong,” or “are really strange” about the floors. The following are observations in additions to the ones he has written.
Gus’s notebook: Why are there drawings of exterior windows which are not visible to us— window with one yellow bulb and plant window (doesn’t match what we can see)?
13: Does the towel in the bathroom look like a buffalo head? The obelisk has a Mercedes symbol and some kind of cartoon brownie (elfish) face that I wonder if I have seen before (I can’t place it, though). The painting by the safe is the Grand Tetons in Wyoming. The number on the safe is “22,” but that does not match the combination. Dodge said he found the combination on Ternky’s “desk,” but it’s clearly on the dining table. So did Dodge do something with the keys and/or dog vase?
Was the trunk by the bed moved to gain access to the top shelf? Is that a salt shaker up there? What’s the red thing?
I also wonder if the pink donut on the pedestal is not a place-holder for a missing vase (which appears on the first floor blackboard).
12: No donut, but is there something odd about that lampshade by the chairs? Is the base just obscured? It matches the shades on Floor 11. For those counting ladders, one by the small drawers.
11: Are submarines another “below” clue, like elbows and bellows?
10: The missing elevator reminds me of the missing design section on the Floor 1 desk front. Are those two unboxed bullets significant?
9: Lots of items point to the Star Wars poster. Is this where Dodge picked up the lemons for Floor 1? “341” on bathrobe hanging on hook.
8: Presumably these kids would have fairly young (if missing) parents. Why is there part of a set of false teeth in the adults’ bedroom? Ladder in bathroom.
7: What is that weird shape in the dunk tank (cat’s head? Or sideways number 3) with “811” or “118” written in it? Also, radio station numbers 91.1? on tv screen. Ladder on dunk tank.
5: Big belt in box with many bottles. Old ladies wear green pocket t-shirts?
4: Ladder for hamster in bathroom; on lifeguard chair. “5” in woodchips and “watermark” 5 to left by water bottles. Many miniature numbers on windowsill in that room, and on steps and floor under round wood door. 8 for keyhole on trunk in foyer.
3: OOH. Here’s an idea. There’s a white pedestal with a gray cloth on it in front of the kiln. What if this pedestal came from Floor 13? What if the vacuum cleaner is out because a glass covering got broken when a vase was stolen? Maybe Rosa was trying to make a copy of the vase? Or maybe this pedestal is just where her many-headed statue used to be (relocated from the bedroom)? But of course, the story of the statue theft was false, anyway… (ouch, my head hurts). Also, why is freezer door open? Pentagon on green bottle pointing down (another “below” clue?). Magazine cover in bedroom, Rosa’s wearing a mask. Is she more of a criminal than we know?
2: Could the “eye” painting be the missing one off Floor 13? Frame is pretty fancy for a stripped down guy like Manzarek.
1. “31” on the milk carton. Is that some kind of buffalo head mask on the living room wall? Missing design on desk front (like 10’s elevator shaft). Snow boots? by blackboard. Kid’s green ball on bookshelf. Bowl of cereal (from Floor 11?) by butterflies? What’s with the “hand” theme? Also bellows by fireplace (like 12 but none on 10).
General question from Dooley video— Could Dodge have gone through the apartments scrawling those mysterious numbers on things? Maybe using a big Sharpie?
OMG it is in SF. Go back to all those clues that GB posted. They make much more sense now since we are using all the floors and no s/h/m.
Friz, its all about creative writing isn't it? I would love to work on a project like this, but the awe I have for this book is intimidating. The level of complexity pierced by an elegant feathered arrow of simplicity is what makes this hunt so great. I'm finding that every detail has meaning.
The Star Trek clues are out of control.
AP - I think you got some really great links between the 1st and 13th floors. I had noticed that there are several items from the 13th floor that can be found on the 1st floor:
You had already noted the vase on the blackboard.
The egyptian obelisk in the center of the 13th floor can be found on the table next to the fireplace on the 1st floor
The Pipe that is in the picture on the wall on the 13th is on the round table in the 1st floor.
There is a large open book on display on the 13th floor. An open book can also be found on the 1st floor.
There is a bust sculpture on the 13th floor. A bust sculpture also sits on the fireplace mantle on the 1st floor.
There is a mask on the wall on the 13th floor. There is also a mask on the wall on the 1st.
The significance here is that the 1st floor is an "Exact replica" of Dodge's apartment. You have to assume that EVERYTHING, including the blackboard, is what is in Dodge's apartment.