Mood:
suaveTopic: "March Forth" (8)
On the fourth day of March in 1887 a man named Doyle published a piece of fiction entitled "A Study in Scarlet." Frodo remembers this event on the sesquicentennial anniversary thereof because it also happens to be the only day of the year which, illustrated it is also by the topic shown above, is a command to go forward. Amusing it may be to acknowledge the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes in this manner, it is also a milestone for Frodo.
The number eight additionally appears in the topical line. For those who may have wondered, but never asked, slap your forehead when you realize that this is the first entry in the eighth year of Frodo's dialogues. It also marks the first instance of admiration by Frodo for any Englishman without wondering if the limey isn't a homo. Appropriate it is that the admiration is directed at a fictional character.
It would seem quite fortuitous to wax philosophical on such a day in Spring. Frodo feels equivocal on a number of issues however, so it signals a day to work in the Gardens of the Shire. It is so much simpler to fertilize azaleas, to rake that which was mulch and is now detritus, and to clean bird boxes. Constructive field labor allows Frodo to erase thoughts of Limbaugh and Santorum, and to concentrate on appropriate exercise for an aging body. It will be a good day, and better knowing that Mick, the Wonder Dog, sleeps, and snores, nearby.
Frodo could have named him Watson. That would have been too elementary, don't you think?
