A Gentleman and His Machete

Pahrump, being a quiet place where a man may usually mind his business in peace, was visited Friday night by a fellow who preferred to mind everyone else’s, with a machete. The innovation in neighborly relations occurred on North Leslie Street, just before ten o’clock, which is an hour traditionally reserved for sleep, not swordplay.

Deputies arrived to find an older man seriously cut about the abdomen, and an older woman struck in the head with the handle of the instrument, proof that even in violence, some men believe in using both ends of a tool, so as not to waste it. The victim went by air to Las Vegas for treatment, which is our modern way of saying the matter was expensive as well as unfortunate.

The suspect, one Aaron Drennan, was later discovered the next morning on Isaac Street and arrested without incident, which is a polite phrase meaning he had exhausted his evening’s enthusiasm and was ready for breakfast. He went to jail, where the county provides room, board, and reflection, though reflection is not guaranteed.

Now, a machete is a curious choice for a domestic disagreement. It suggests either a failure of imagination or an excess of it. In earlier times, a man with grievances might write a letter, or at worst raise his voice. Today, he arms himself like a one-person banana republic and calls it communication.

We are told that society’s troubles are complicated, requiring committees, studies, and a budget the size of a small nation. Yet in Pahrump, the lesson appears simpler, which is to say a man who should not have a machete had one, and used it in a manner inconsistent with gardening.

The sheriff’s office, to its credit, located the suspect promptly and concluded the affair with admirable efficiency. Government works best when it sticks to this sort of task, finding the fellow with the weapon and relieving him of it, rather than theorizing about why he felt expressive.

And so the town returns to its ordinary business, having been reminded that civilization is a thin veneer, easily scratched, and occasionally slashed. The rest of us will continue to lock our doors, mind our neighbors politely, and hope that the next innovation in local affairs involves something less ambitious than a machete.