About

March 7, 2014

” Sherlock doesn’t die, you moron, Sherlock never dies!”

I first met Sherlock Holmes and Doctor John Watson when I was 9 years old. This was 1964. I’ll let you do the math. I was in the habit of going into my older brother’s bedroom, looking through his things, nosing about, and reading his books. He had a scholastic book of Sherlock Holmes stories and I was intrigued. So I “borrowed” it and was instantly pulled into the marvelous world of Victorian England and 221B Baker Street. The last story in this particular book was ” The Final Problem.”

When dear Doctor Watson informed me of the demise of the best and wisest man he knew, I was devastated. I couldn’t believe my hero had died. Superheroes like Superman, Batman, and Sherlock Holmes couldn’t die! I spent a few days mourning him (making me the only mourner of Holmes in the 20th century) and finally asked my older brother about it. I’ll never forget what he said to me. “Sherlock doesn’t die, you moron, Sherlock never dies! Give me back my book, stop stealing my stuff, and GET OUT OF MY ROOM!!!”

Ah! The memories!

Needless to say I was delighted. I soon found his copy of “The Complete Sherlock Holmes ” under his bed and read my fill of Sherlock Holmes and the Good Doctor. I’ve always liked Watson a bit better than Holmes, couldn’t quite forgive what he put me through. I’ve still got that book, I should really put it back someday.

I suppose I should sum up my life since then, just so you know I’m not a robot, or a Time Lord. Born in New York, grew up on the Island (Long, that is), went to college, got a little knowledge, ( studied Entomology and Environmental Health).Tried to save the earth, did my part, then got married and had three girls, (my joys).Taught pre-school. Then appraised antiques, till I became one. And am now retired in snowy Michigan.

Holmes and Watson have woven a thread through my life. Not of scarlet, but of pure white. I learned, loyalty, honor, and how to be a good friend. I learned to observe, be calm in a crisis, listen for the footsteps on the stairs, and not to make conclusions till all the data is in.

And now that  I’m retired, I’ve become a real Sherlockian, to my utter amazement. I joined a local Baker Street Irregulars scion group called Mcmurdoscamp.wordpress.com. I write articles for them and have quite a few posted (please, check them out, I would greatly appreciate it!) I even have a Sherlockian pen name: M. Vernet. I love chatting with other Sherlockians on-line, they are a fun bunch, I tell ya!

Amongyourbeesandyourbooks… Is a quote of Watson’s. ” But you have retired, Holmes. We heard of you living the life of a hermit among your bees and your books in a small farm upon the South Downs.”

As I have also retired and live among my bees and books, (oh, and a net-book too, I suppose) I felt a sort of kinship with Sherlock. Sometimes when I close my eyes I imagine him standing on a chalk cliff, gazing thoughtfully at a sun setting on the Channel, the breeze making the smoke from his pipe form a halo around his head. He may be thinking about that one fixed point in a changing age, or how to segregate the new queen bee. But one thing I’m hoping for, when I close my eyes for the last time, he will be there, and Watson too, and they’ll  transport me in a Hansom cab to 221B Baker Street and my next adventure.

On this blog, I intend to unravel some of the mysteries of the great canon, bravely post my attempts at poetry, and share my love of books and bees!

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I have received a Telegram (yes, some people still use them), from my dear friend, Marianna Vernet. She has lent me her name to use as my pen name, and she has given me permission to write about her on my Blog.

I met Marianna on a Birding field trip to Point Pelee in Canada. I heard her name, and being an avid Sherlockian as well as a dedicated Birder, I struck up a conversation as the Warblers filled the trees around us.

She was a French Canadian and a Naturalist/ Entomologist studying wild bees, especially, Halictus eurygnathus, a solitary bee in danger of extinction.

At the end of the day I got up the courage to ask her about her name. She told me that her family was indeed related to the famous Vernet artists, and that she recalled her Grand-mama saying she was a cousine to Sherlock Holmes. I mentioned in my geeked out state, that “Marianna” was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s French Grandmother’s name. She smiled , but was unimpressed. I on the other hand was in danger of having a stroke.

We exchanged addresses, she didn’t use mobile phones or computers, and said she would write. And she actually did, with lovely hand-written letters scented with roses and lavender.

We’ve been friends for quite a few years. She visited me in Michigan, and I took her to see the Kirtland Warblers in Grayling. And we both were witness to the most amazing Spring fallout in Point Pelee’s history.

We are both retired now, I am in cold and snowy Michigan. And she is in chaud et incroyable, Southern  France, fulfilling her lifetime dream of following the footsteps of J. Henri Fabre, ( the great French Entomologist) and setting up a living laboratory to study bees and wasps among the wild thyme and rosemary of Provence.

Some of her letters are as incredible as they are charming, especially to Sherlockians, and Marianna has graciously allowed me to share them here. I’m sure you will be awed, as I was!

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Marianna’s letters are spinning an exciting tale of her ancestors, Sherlock Holmes and John Watson! So I thought I would put a brief summary here for any new friends to read. For full details read all “The Letters of M.Vernet” found on this Blog.

January 15, 2014 – Marianna retires to Serignan, France, living a simple life without electricity.

February 15, 2014 – Marianna meets her elderly cousin in Orange.

March 1, 2014 – Marianna’s elderly cousin Mari, gives Marianna a wooden box with a bee on it.

March 2, 2014 – Napolean Le Chat knocks over the box. A secret compartment is found containing a notebook, “The Poems of John H. Watson”, some papers, and an antique key.

March 12, 2014 – MoMo (me) overreacts  (a bit) to the news.

April 1, 2014 – The notebook is thrown into the fire… APRIL FOOLS! Marianna meets her young cousin Vedette who tells the tale of Marianna’s (born 1856) and Sherlock’s (born 1854) childhood.

April 8, 2014 – The tale continues through Marianna’s and Sherlock’s young adulthood, till Marianna’s engagement in 1883.

April 15, 2014 – Happy Easter! The brass key opens an antique box in Vedette’s possession. “The Musgrave Box”! Inside is “The Diary of Marianna Vernet-Fabre”.

April 21, 2014 – Vedette and her sisters reveal what they were afraid to tell. We find out why Sherlock and John left London in 1883 and about the war between the BSI and the BSS.

April 26, 2014 – Marianna tells of Honore’, his wife Simone and their three children, Michelle, Michel, Marianna and two more Mycroft and Sherlock.

May 1, 2014 – Marianna delves into the diary of Marianna Vernet-Fabre. She tells of the Vernets meeting Doctor John H. Watson for the first time, and how he won the hearts of the cousines, only to try and break them by getting seriously ill.

May 10, 2014 – Marianna soon-to-be Fabre, takes care of Sherlock and John. She deals with Sherlock’s cocaine use a bit differently than the good Doctor. But there is a lot of love there.

May 14, 2014 – Sherlock, John, Marianna, and Michelle travel to Paris to buy a trousseau. They celebrate Bastille Day with a parade, pique-nique, and the cancan!

May 23, 2014 – While in Paris Sherlock becomes very jealous of John and Michelle, making everyone furious and driving John out into the Parisian night alone. Will they find John before the Absinthe green fairy takes him away?

June 14, 2014 – The Wedding date is settled. March 15, 1884. Sherlock and John have become interested in photography and solar research. Looks like their interests are pulling them towards Lady Paris.