**flash.now[:class]** is supposed to work differently from, e.g. **flash.keep[:class]** but doesn't seem to for me. I've got **flash.keep** messages working all over my jRuby/Rails app but now I want to display a message immediately to assure the user that I'm working to fulfill the request *BEFORE* my controller method redirects. Why doesn't **flash.now** work this way? I've already followed it with a **render** instruction but that's not allowed if you also have a **redirect\_to** elsewhere in your controller method, which I need in order to return to the main view. If not **flash.now** then what should I use, or is what I'm trying to do just not possible in Rails?

The controller code isn't much more than what's shown above:

```
 flash.now[:info] = '* * * Working hard to fulfill your request... * * *'
 render :action => 'index'

```

I added the **render** instruction in an attempt to make **flash.now** flash ***now*** but the preprocessor didn't like my having both a **render** and a **redirect\_to** in the same method. I need the **redirect\_to** further down as part of the normal and typical design of my RESTful application.

But the main point is that **flash.now** does *not* flash now. So how is it different from, e.g. **flash.keep** or just **flash**?