I think Pond Man is awesome! A very clever, brave dude. The best to Pond Man!
Mr. Abbot Hall | 11.30.04 - 1:02 pm | #

I believe Pond Man has not come clean about how he got out to the rock, and has deceived his old friend Mr. Hill. My bet is that he waited till low tide to walk out to the rock and returned when the tide went out again.
In the alternative, many small ponds like this havd a dam at the lower end. Perhaps Pond Man opened the dam to let the water out, allowing Pond Man easy access to the rock. An assistant might then have closed the dam, at which point the pond would refill itself.
I think Pond Man is more ingenious than one might think.
Barney Gett | 12.06.04 - 9:58 am | #

It is my humble opinion that the gentleman on the rock got there by means of a cherry-picker device. Take note of the woodsy area surrounding the body of water. This looks like some kind of campus setting where there would probably be a department of grounds keepers tending to the greenery. They would certainly employ the use of a utility truck with a lift-bucket to prune the trees. A lift-bucket could easily place this man on the rock and return later in the day to place him back on land without getting his feet wet. This is a clever chap indeed. However, my question is, "Why would a well-dressed gentleman of this stature be hanging out on a rock by himself in the middle of a small pond in the middle of the day?" While deductive reasoning can be deployed to expose his method of operation, only a psychological analysis can help us identify the reasons for this man's seemingly unexplainable behavior.

Regards
Cole Warph | 12.27.04 - 10:39 pm | #

Quite an amusing riddle. My best guess as to how this man got across the water to the rock is the method he most likely used. It is so simple. This so-called "Pond Man" went to the edge of the water where he put on hip boots. He took his shoes and placed them in a waterproof plastic bag and then used some rope to tie the bag to the top of his sign. He then walked through the water to the rock, carrying the sign across one shoulder, like a rifle or shot gun, with the plastic shoe bag dangling from the top of the sign in true "hobo-like" fashion. When he got to the rock, he took off the hip boots and put on his shoes. He next had to hide the boots to disguise his scheme. He could have done this by, 1) placing the boots behind the rock, 2) placing the boots inside the waterproof bag and using a small rock, which he could have brought with him in the plastic bag, to sink the plastic bag with its contents below the water's surface. He would have used the same rope that had secured the plastic bag to the top of the sign as a line to tie the plastic bag so that when the day was over he could pull up the sunken plastic bag, remove his dry boots, place them back on, and walk back to shore, or 3) he could have used the rope to tie the bag of boots to his back, underneath his overcoat. No one would ever think to look behind this man.
I agree that this man is clever. Actually quite clever. I think, however, that this cleverness is more in the simplicity of his scheme than in his ability to design a complicated instrumentality to accomplish the task at hand.
Peach S. Poynt | 01.04.05 - 8:14 pm | #

I know something about ponds. You can take it from me, you'll need hip boots to wade through Mr. Poynt's hip boot point. Plus, I don't think that Pond Man's escapade was that admirable. Hell, even a fool knows admirals sail on the big seas, not on ponds. No, I would say that Pond Man's adventure was ensignerable than admirable.
"Red" Pond | 01.05.05 - 8:07 pm | #

According to 18th Century English poet Alexander Pope, “A little learning is a dangerous thing.” And so it is with Mr. Red Pond’s criticism of Mr. Peach S. Poynt’s theory of how so-called Pond Man made his way out to the rock, and Mr. Red Pond’s downplaying of Pond Man’s heroism. Mr. Red Pond is certainly all wet about his history as well. He claims that, “even a fool knows admirals sail on big seas, not on ponds.” What Mr. Red Pond implies is that important military battles occur in deep ocean waters rather than in shallow small bodies of water. This is just not true. Some of the most important battles in history have involved small bodies of water. For example, on Christmas night in 1776, George Washington and his army crossed a small body of water known as the Delaware River to lead a surprise attach on the battle-hardened Hessian army, one of the greatest armies of the time. This miraculous victory by Washington was the turning point in the American Revolution. For the first time, the American revolutionaries thought they had a real chance of defeating their British occupiers. It gave them encouragement. The Hessian mercenaries thought they were protected by the Delaware River as it acted as a mote around their encampment. However, the Hessians let their guard down, allowing Washington to defeat the whole unit without suffering a single casualty. The act of crossing this small body of water in the middle of the night is now considered one of the boldest military moves in military history. One of my ancestors, the famous English statesman William Pitt, agreed with the significance of this particular military victory and attempted to convince King George to allow the colonists their independence. So Mr. Red Pond, before you criticize something you know little about, just remember, if it hadn’t been for small bodies of water, you’d probably be having crumpets and tea every afternoon and you’d be concluding the day mutttering “God save the Queen!” So I say, “Thank God for small bodies of water and thank God for those who dare to venture upon them.”

As William Pitt might have concluded, “Cherio, Ole Boy, and visit again when you're a little more sea-worthy.
Getch L. Pitt | 01.12.05 - 12:27 am | #