The Bear and the Cat were on a walk in the woods. The two friends were enjoying a lovely, pleasant and placid stroll together. Leaves were falling all around them and were already ankle-deep. 

The wind picked up and the leaves began falling more and more rapidly. Having never seen this many leaves falling this quickly, The Bear turned to The Cat and asked, “Do you think the leaves will eventually be over our heads?”

The Cat was a very serious scholar and the idea of silliness of any kind was viewed as unnecessary, superfluous, a distraction from very serious concerns of the world. Due to the nature of The Bear, The Cat assumed his question was asked in jest. 

“No of course not, nothing in the historical record ever suggests or points to the possibility of leaves piling up over our heads.” The Cat replied, slightly annoyed.

“Well if you’re such good friends with the historical record I guess you know what you’re talking about." Replied The Bear, who admittedly did not know much about the historical record since he was not raised as a nerd. 

The two continued walking the path and catching up with the goings-on of each other’s lives. The Bear had recently completed an online certification in public radio journalism and was hoping to find an idea he could turn into an innovative podcast. 

The Cat, similarly, was thinking about going back to school to study law. The Cat had always been a keen observer of laws and legal proceedings. He figured it was probably time to turn his hobby into his work. 

As the two walked and talked the leaves continued to fall all around them. At this point, the leaves were all the way up to their waist. The Bear was growing more and more concerned...

“Are you sure we’re not going to get buried up to our heads by these falling leaves?”

“Look, if you know more about the historical record than I do feel free to enlighten me, if not I have said my peace.” The Cat retorted.

“It’s less about the historical record and more about my... my eyes seeing what’s happening right now?” The Bear ventured, cautiously.

The Cat didn’t like having his authority questioned. This was a major driving factor in the Cat’s decision to attend law school. She wanted to be sure that if anyone ever questioned her judgment she could simply point to her education as a sign that she was right and everyone else was wrong —

“Look if you want to wantonly disagree with the historical record be my guest, but I will not just sit by and allow you to wantonly disagree with the historical record! Not on my watch!” 

She’s going to make a great lawyer one day, the Bear thought, as the leaves continued to fall and swirl and pile all around them, reaching up well-passed their shoulders. I should start recording all of our conversations for posterity or evidence. She may do something great or get into a lot of trouble one day. 

“Do you mind if I start recording our conversations?” The Bear yelled to The Cat as the leaves began to cover their ears. 

“What? Did you say something?” The Cat responded. “Say it again, there is something in my ear!”