Let me clarify my bad post some.

Can't easily use the apache location approach to give Mason dibs on a while directory, as lotza different file types in there don't want Mason to mangle.

Yes, apache generates the 404. And apache flips to a custom page-not-found page. But -- here's the whack part -- the custom 404 page is a .html file in the mason tree, so it gets masonified. And it does indeed get masonified: the custom not-found file is indeed working under mason -- header, nav, etc.

Can do all the mason things on this page, run code, etc -- except cannot seem to redirect away from this custom page, using either the mason redirect method or the 'flush' 'header_out' 'abort' approach.

my question again then: if the not-found page will 'do' mason, why won't apache accept a redirect away from it??

befuddled...