Lupin is one of our regulars now. When he first came into the bar, I asked him his name and that led to the first of many tall tales Lupin would bring to us.

When Lupin first entered the bar wearing Khaki pants and a plaid flannel shirt, I thought he was the lumberjack from the Brawny paper towel wrapper. Well, maybe an older version who had fallen on hard times. He was not as well-groomed and sported a rather scruffy beard. Without hesitation, he took the first available bar stool. He ordered a beer, drank it and then introduced himself.

"Stan Lupin," he said shaking my hand. Most folks just call me Lupin and don't doubt a lot worse behind my back."

"Lupin? like the beans that grow wild around here? I think the bears eat them," I kidded.

"Don't know bout that," he responded dead seriously. "Never been bear food. I was eat up by a mountain lion once."

Well, that got the bar's attention. "Tell us more about that and there's a free drink in it for you," I offered.

"T'aint much ta tell, but for a beer, I'll tell ya what thar is." I put a beer down in front of him. He took a swallow. Wiped his mouth on his sleeve and began. "I was hiking the high country round Carson pass not fer from Kirkwood but not really close to anythin' else that could be called civilization. Civilization was the last thing I wanted. My boss had fired me. My wife had left me fer my best friend. My folks had just passed away. Hell, nature was the only thing I could think of that was worth livin' fer. If nature turns agin ya – well, ya might as well be dead.

"Anyway, that's real pretty hiking country up there. It was July so I was able to sleep outside which I done near the shore of Fourth of July lake. Even in July, that water is too cold to bathe in so I guess I was getting a bit ripe. The smell don't bother me none, but having that much of a scent is probably not a good idear when there are predators around. I guess I was going to find that out the hard way.

"I got up around dawn and started hiking with no particular destination in mind. I had hiked for a couple of hours and managed to get down below the tree line. I was walking along a mountain stream in a dense copse of aspen, firs, and pines. My mind was distracted by my current woes, but my senses were on high alert as they always are when hiking in the woods. I continually scanned the tops of trees looking fer mountain lions and the bushes looking fer bears, coyotes and bobcats. I always listen intently for anything that might be approaching. Of course, they say you'll never hear or see a mountain lion until it's too late. You can't hear 'em because they're that sneaky and you won't see 'em cause they always attacks from behind.

"Yeah, the first sense that kicked in was the feel of two massive paws on my back followed by claws digging into my shoulder blades and two dull fangs trying to penetrate my scalp. I knew I was a goner. I tried to shake him off and to use my walkin' stick as a weapon but it was useless. I was down on the ground. I guess his teeth piercing my skull brought on merciful unconsciousness.

"The next thing that flashed through my mind was the sight of this big ole mama bear towering over me. She was a growlin' but not at me. I'd heard of this sort of thing happenin', but found it hard to believe and certainly didn't think I could be that lucky. The bear was protecting her nearby cub. With the mountain lion distracted attackin' me, the mama bear saw her chance to grab the mountain lion by its head and fling it a good twenty yards away. When the mama bear growled at the discombobulated mountain lion, the lion decided he really wasn't all that hungry after all and ran off.

"Mama bear had no real interest in me and went back to her cub. I was in a lot of pain and bleedin' rather profusely. Figured I needed to get to a hospital even if it did mean going back to civilization. I got to my feet and began headin' in what I hoped was the direction of highway 88.

"The thing was I was completely disoriented. I didn't recognize any of my surroundings. There did appear to be a long narrow path in front of me with tall dark trees on either side. They weren't the pines or aspen you'd expect. They were more like the pecan and oak trees of where I grew up. I kept walkin' until I spied, right in front of me, the old homestead where I was raised. On the porch were my ma and pa a waitin' for me. Ma reached out for me. As she takes my hand, I feel an awful pain at the back of my head, a blindin' white light blazes all about with a sound like cars in a head on collision and then all is silence and darkness."

Lupin took a lengthy swallow from his beer. The bar was completely silent as we all waited for him to continue. – He didn't.

Finally, Freddy who was sitting next to Lupin asked, "Then what happened?"

Lupin shrugged and answered, "I guess that catamount got to finished his lunch which is what I'd like to do. This here beer is my lunch and no doubt quite a bit tastier than the alcohol pickled brains the lion ate."

There were groans throughout the bar as people realized there was no more to the story.

"After that story, I'm throwing in a free sandwich." I figured that he should have more than a beer for lunch.

Freddy who can be a little slow sometimes said, "Wait a minute. If the mountain lion ate you, how can you be here?".

"Oh, that was another lifetime, a different fork in the multiverse, who knows? The universe is a strange place my friend," Lupin answered with a grin and I realized he was a lot smarter than his backwoods vernacular would lead one to believe.