As Thanksgiving approaches, I’m thankful for the people I’ve met and the places I’ve been as a result of being a Sherlockian. The last several weeks have been brimming with that.
Anniversaries are meant for celebrating, and Ann and I were delighted to be part of the 34th anniversary dinner celebration of the Ribston-Pippins in Warren, Michigan, last weekend. The scion society was founded and is still ably presided over by our good friend Regina Stinson.
In addition to the usual toasts, quiz, story discussion, and recitation of “221B,” I gave a talk on the vexing question of whether the Sherlock Holmes stories are really mysteries. (Spoiler alert: The great majority are, but they are not whodunits.)
Steve Doyle, who wears many different metaphorical hats in the Sherlockian world, did a fantastic job of leading the discussion of “The Adventure of the Dying Detective.” Using the Socratic method of asking questions to provoke thought, Steve led us to see that this tale is replete with insights on Holmes, Watson, and Mrs. Hudson that make it a great, though much-neglected, story.
On Friday, October 28, Ann and I attended a meeting of another venerable scion, the Sons of the Copper Beeches in Philadelphia. For COVID and other reasons, this was the first time we’d been able to attend since October 2019. It won’t be the last. This is a fun group almost 75 years old, with some time-honored rituals.
And on Saturday, November 5, we again saw many of our east coast friends as I was one of eight speakers at the “A Saturday with Sherlock Holmes” program at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore. I talked about Montague Place and Monague Street in the world of Holmes. This was the 43rd annual presentation of this program sponsored by Baltimore-area Sherlockian societies.
It has become a truism that what we really love about Sherlock Holmes is the friendship. The same thing might be said about being a Sherlockian.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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| Dan and Regina n |
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