Monday, August 17, 2009

Like a Complete Unknown


By now you’ve heard the story, which broke on Friday:

New Jersey Homeowner Calls Cops on Bob Dylan

Dylan was detained by a police officer in Long Branch last month when, while taking an anonymous stroll, he reportedly wandered into the yard of a house with a "for Sale sign" on it. The occupants of the home became spooked by his appearance and called police with a report of an "eccentric-looking old man" in their yard.

What made it news was the fact that the 24-year-old officer Kristie Buble, who responded to the call, did not recognize him. But we would like to come to the young officer’s defense: We probably would not have recognized him, either, and we are a lot older than she.

Further, at least she did know who Bob Dylan was, something we are not so sure we could have said had we, at age 24, encountered an aging singer who topped the charts four decades earlier.

But it is a reminder that what is relevant to each generation is not necessary even on the radar of other generations. Give officer Buble credit: She followed procedure, she treated Mr Dylan respectfully, and there was, to use the cliche, no harm no foul.