The Illustrious Clients at the Zoo |
Collecting
memberships in Sherlock Holmes societies can be like collecting books, except easier
and cheaper. Without trying I’ve joined a half-dozen or so. But the ones I am
closest to are the ones I am closest to – geographically.
This
weekend my wife Ann and I attended meetings in Cincinnati, Dayton, and Indianapolis.
We rather feared it was going to be a Bataan death march of a weekend, but it
turned out to be delightful. And together, the three meetings show the wonderful
variety of Holmes-mania.
On
Friday, the Tankerville Club met at a Cincinnati-area Panera restaurant. We had
a quiz and a discussion about “The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez.” Official
Secretary Paul Herbert’s legendary prowess at creating excruciating quizzes has
not waned. (Example: “Would an investigation uncover any collusion between the Russians
and either Arthur Conan Doyle or John Watson? Yes No Uncertain.”)
On
Saturday, the Illustrious Clients made a field trip to the Indianapolis Zoo,
led by the Illustrious Client, StevenDoyle. It was scavenger hunt in which we were charged with finding Canonical
animals on a check list. A few examples will suffice:
Baboon:
“The Speckled Band”
Lion:
“The Veiled Lodger”
Ostrich:
“The Engineer’s Thumb”
Tiger:
“The Empty House”
Eagle:
The Second Stain”
Gild
Monster [lizard]: Tie breaker – what story? (A Study in Scarlet)
Ann
was able to check off 16 animals, some of which she found on a carrousel, but
her dogged attempts to find the worm from “Thor Bridge” proved fruitless.
On
Sunday, the Agra Treasurers met for lunch at a Dayton restaurant and a quiz on
a “The Red-Headed League” by member Stanley Wyllie. The Agra Treasurers’
tradition is that the winner of the quiz has to prepare the next one. Why wasn’t
I warned? That task has now fallen to me.
There
are many ways for a Sherlock Holmes society to function, but friendship is the
lifeblood and the fun of it all. If you don’t belong to a group, join one. If
there isn’t one near you, start one.
The Tiger of San Pedro or a Sebastian Moran target? (Steven Doyle photo) |
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