The Curse of the Full Metal Hound.

Today's little blog entry is a cautionary tale for budding Sherlock Holmes fans.

As you contemplate your future as a Sherlockian, pause for a moment and consider how cool Sherlock Holmes is.

Now, consider how cool one-of-a-kind objects d'art are.

Take those thoughts one step further and consider the frame of mind you just put yourself in, going on for forty years.

Now let me show you something.

The Full Metal Hound

That, my friends, is an approximately three foot tall by three foot wide rendering of the Hound of the Baskervilles in black-painted sheet metal. Heavy enough metal that it would take quite a few more bullets to put it down than the original Hound.

Am I bragging about this little piece in my Sherlockian collection? No, I'm using it as a warning sign.

Be careful, ye mightily enthused younger friends of Sherlock Holmes, lest ye become accursed with such a beastie, haunting your life like you were born on the moor with Sir Hugo's blood in ye.

I mean, I can't just get rid of it, right? It's the Hound of the Baskervilles! But it's this big ol' chunk of metal that has to go somewhere. He wanders around the house, sometimes going out into the front yard on rare and special occasions, but mainly his shadow lurks just over my shoulder somewhere, occasionally catching my eye, perhaps waiting to give me that Sir Charles heart attack special while I'm awaiting the arrival of some artist's ex-wife, just to provide the perfect symmetry to the original tale.

So as you move through your next forty years, and some surely cool mementos of our friend Sherlock Holmes come your way, be very careful what you wish for . . . as the saying goes, you just might get it. And then you have to keep it.