by Eric Howell Sharp

Created on: July 24, 2010   Last Updated: July 29, 2010

There is always more than meets the eye. Such is the great mystery of the universe.  Our perception is limited to the capacity of our five senses and our five senses are limited in scope. We only see a small portion of what is see-able. We only hear a small portion of what is hear-able.  We cannot hear a dog whistle but we know it makes a sound.  I cannot hear the mosquito ring tone but my children can.   We cannot perceive the whole of the universe and because it is infinite, even if our senses had greater capacity, we cannot pull back the camera far enough to ever to take in the whole picture.   There is also the consideration that on many occasions the senses cannot be trusted.  Artificial flavoring, for example.  So, we can't perceive it all and we cant trust what we perceive, so how do we know what we know?  This is the reason that there will always be new mysteries to solve.  

Okay, so let's look at something smaller than the whole universe, shall we? How about Human Beings?  Well, it turns out that people are no less mysterious than the universe as a whole.  In fact, aside from our senses being finite in scope, and therefore not trustworthy, there is the human condition of lying to add to the equation.  Everyone is a mystery. Everyone wears masks.  

I interviewed murder mystery writer, Lee Ashe, on my Los Angeles based internet radio show, "Sharpo Says".  She asks questions of her readers.  "What lurks beneath your surface?", and "What secrets do you keep?"  She told me she approaches her writing from the premise that everyone is a living mystery.  That is what makes her murder mystery characters so fascinating.  I really love her approach.  It reminds me of the Beatles song, 'Eleanor Rigby' where Paul McCartney sings that she puts on a mask that she keeps in a jar by the door.   

In our murder mystery stories  Nora and I always start with the universality of a character and then add an extra dose of selfishness because what could possibly be more selfish than murder?  Well, committing the act of murder and then framing someone else for the crime would be more selfish.   Our interactive murder mystery party events begin with a mingling reception so everyone can meet and discern for themselves who is acting mysteriously and suspiciously.  These cues may or may not be reliable in determining who is the killer but it sure is interesting to see that everyone is indeed a mystery unto themselves.

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