Ho, Ho, HOLY CRAP!

This particular post is not going to be as long as usual. It's also not going to be about some weighty chronological issue. Instead, I thought I'd share something with you. Something that I saw for the first time on October 27 of this year. Something I still can't believe.

I was told a short time before this happened by fellow Sherlockian and chronologist Brad Keefauver that I was going to be receiving a package, and that if I thought really hard, I would know what it was. I had an idea, but I left it to The Fates. When the package arrived, I discovered that I was wrong. I remembered upon seeing the item our past conversation about it - a conversation that was a "one of these days" kind of thing. You don't wait too hard for much after those types of talks, but an unexpected resolution lay before me.

Brad had written the book he had talked about so often before! I was thrilled, both for him and the chronological community. Yes, I have lots of books on my shelves about the subject, but not a single one which gives you the opportunity to write your own timeline of the Sherlock Holmes cases with instructions. I was holding a proof copy of a fulfilled dream, and I couldn't have been happier. (The finished version is now available here.)

Like a true bookworm, friend, and colleague in our niche, I immediately sat down to read it from cover to cover. Inside I found that Brad had inscribed a personal message for me, and since it was just for me, I shall keep it that way. I also found on the same page that this was one of five "special" copies, so I am curious to know where the other four are. It will make for fun chit-chat with my fellow chronologists someday.

I got to thinking about Brad's other accomplishment that he unleashed on the unsuspecting crowd at 221B Con back in April. He had come up with a way to create your own chronology in a deck of cards form - sort of a flash chronology thing. No doubt this was in conjunction with the book he had spoken of, but my old man brain never put the two together. This hobby, like most, has a way of getting your creative blood flowing, and Brad's has been percolating like my grandma's old coffee pot. (You're welcome for that memory.)

I turned the page and saw acknowledgements. It may be a book lover thing, but I read these. Odd, I know, but if I have a book, it's because I'm interested in the subject matter, thus I am interested in where that matter came from and who might also be interested. In the list I saw no strangers and was thrilled to see the name of our patron saint, Helen Elizabeth Wilson. You can read more about her here.

And then I saw something which stopped me cold...

Now, I have been on this earth for 51 1/2 years. (Hey, at my age that half is just as important as when I was a kid.) In all of that time this has never happened before because no one ever had a reason to do so. "What was it?" you're screaming. 

Well, Brad had dedicated his beloved work to me.

Now, I am not a prideful man. I never make myself out to be more than I am, and you'll never ever find me calling myself the best at something, but this knocked me for a loop. Someone had dedicated a book to me. ME! A paunchy, midwestern, balding man with bad knees and a lowly government job. As unworthy as I feel about something like this, it still happened. 

Please know that I have no interest whatsoever in taking the spotlight away from Brad's accomplishment. This is monumental in and for our niche. In handing the power over to others to write their own chronology he has taken away any fears someone might have about doing so. The process is far more simplified, and a lot of the trepidation about facing sixty original cases and all they contain has been narrowed down into a more usable form. (He has also created a lot more work for me and my database. If even just half a dozen people decide to do this, my fingers will be busy for months processing and recording the information. I guess it's a good problem to have.)

So, I wanted to share this gift and honor that I received. It's the time of year when presents are on people's minds, and this was a whopper of one for me. The Brad and I don't hang out on the weekends together. We don't exchange meatloaf recipes or talk about our feelings. We've never even gone on a road trip together. What we do have, though, is a respect for each other in the hobby, and for each other's abilities and passion when it comes to Sherlockian chronology. We are friends, yes. Without a doubt. Always will be. But we're also two people trying to make this pariah subset more friendly and less scary. Yep, we'll get together on occasion and have a beer (or several) and discuss it until we can't go on, and hopefully will do that many more times. but we live quite far apart. (I can't even imagine what it would be like if we did live closer!) However, I never expected something like this. How can someone? Now I just hope I can continue to live up to it.

Thanks for taking this sleigh ride with me. (Okay, that was cheesy.) I love it so much when you make it down to the bottom. As we watch 2022 draw to a close, I'm looking forward to another fun and exciting year of bringing you my thoughts on this subject that I love so much. Be good, and remember that song about Santa watching everything you do. See you soon, and as always...thanks for reading.