Sherlockian failure

Okay, Sherlockian blogger-guy, let's cheer ourselves up.

But let's be honest, guys. It's been a week.

There are so many bad and dishonest actors in the world out there, folks who can't seem to deal with actual problems or tragedy in any kind of meaningful way, that it's easy to lose heart. On top of that, we all have jobs we're responsible for, work to do, families to care for. It can take a lot out of you. And then you come back to your happy place, Sherlock Holmes land, and . . .

Let me just say this: If you have a friend who is missing some Sherlockian event, stick with "We miss you," and not "Why the hell aren't you here?"

One is a warm fuzzy, the other, kind of an accusation of failure, isn't it?

And let me tell you, my friends . . . because who else would read this somewhat self-indulgent Sherlockian blog but friends (and hate-readers, but c'mon, you know you guys must like me a little bit too, just to keep coming back here) . . . after decades and decades of being a Sherlockian, you can pile up an impressive record of failure.

Just like Sherlock Holmes.

This is one more thing I love about Sherlock Holmes: The guy fails!

First novel, A Study in Scarlet: "Old woman be damned!" The great observant Sherlock Holmes is fooled by what might have been a guy in drag, but he never really knows. And never does find out who that was. Ever.

In the first short story, "A Scandal in Bohemia," Irene Adler completely defeats him. Four stories later, in "Five Orange Pips," he gets his client killed. Killed! No wonder one of the first things he ever said to Watson was, "I get down in the dumps at times, and don't open my mouth for days on end." That sounds a lot like depression, and you can understand why he might have reasons for that.

We all have our reasons for things, just as the world outside also has reasons for its failures.

But we can always look at Sherlock and go, look how great he did while still failing all those times. Even if you go, "But he's fictional!" you can always switch your view to his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle -- he failed big as well. Sherlock failed, Sir Arthur failed, we all have those moments of complete and utter failure. And then, we pick ourselves up and try again, even if picking yourself up requires reaching out for help. Getting a little help is just one other way to try again, after all.

So, my dear Sherlocks, it's time to get up and try again. A new week awaits, very soon.