These days, one never knows whether to over-react or under-react to any news bit, especially with all the opinion that usually comes with it. The wonderful world of infotainment often seems to have replaced the crazy man on the street corner as our chief proponent of the end being near. But it doesn’t take much deductive reasoning to look at oil and gas costs and foresee a trickle-down of rising prices while none of our incomes are keeping up. The end may not be near, but a definitely tightening of the belt is coming fast for a goodly share of us. Luckily, we’re Sherlockians!

Why? Well, Sherlockiana has always had its haves and have-nots. While some have long indulged annual book-buying sprees in New York every year or high-end collectibles, others have celebrated their hobby as simply as possible, by re-reading those classic sixty stories and maybe putting pen to paper with their insights. Some of our best-loved Sherlockian forebears have also been some of the least fiscally successful. Money can’t produce great Sherlockiana, just buy rare stuff, and there’s a place in our hobby for both. But if you ever need to get down to our bottom line, our very lowest cost for being a Sherlockian, you’ll find it’s pretty gosh-darned cheap.

In fact, even though I don’t know of any homeless Sherlockians, you really could be one if it came down to it. A book of Sherlock Holmes stories can be had for a dollar or less at most book sales you come across. That’s step one, reading and enjoying the stories, which you could even do at the local library, if you didn’t have a book sale and a dollar handy.

Need to take the nex step, making contact with other Sherlockians? Well, there’s that good old public library internet access, or if you’re lucky enough, a local Sherlockian event at a library or other public venue.  And its all downhill from there.

If budget-tightening is in our future, there may be some cutting-back of the little weekend trips to distant Sherlockian societies. A vacation or two may not wind up in New York or Minneapolis as hoped.  If you’re anything close to as lucky as I’ve been, life’s been good to you in the Sherlockian travel department. Our forebears of fifty or more years ago weren’t nearly so blessed. But they made do with a little reading, a little more writing, and staying in touch through other means. Going back to basics every now and then never hurts anybody.

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In a side note, anyone notice how British government documents keep getting found on trains? They should just be glad they aren’t being found in the pockets of dead government clerks, like the Bruce-Partington plans were, once upon a time.

Your humble correspondent,

Brad Keefauver