The men of ASH. Sounds almost like a pinup calendar, doesn’t it?

Well, if you’re looking for tight, washboard abs, they might not be the models that you’re looking for. If you’re looking for a certain . . .  je ne sais quoi,  well then maybe the men of ASH could be your calendar boys, except for the fact there’s about twenty of them.  Thank goodness for that, as if there had been just twelve,  I might have been suspicious of the motives of the Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes in admitting men to their little circle after all these years. They are Adventuresses, after all.

In any case, as you may have heard, after forty years of being all female, the Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes have flung their membership doors open wide, and are now allowing the unfair sex to join their merry band.  Well, maybe the doors aren’t opened too widely – you still have to write your letter of application, have solid Sherlockian credentials and a history of supporting  feminism , contributing to the ASH, etc.  But the fact of the matter is, there doesn’t seem to be an upper limit as to how many men can be in the Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes.

It’s a wonderful thing for those of us who have admired the great spirit shown by the Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes over the past four decades. While the Baker Street Irregulars always seemed to be striving for Important Things, and indeed, accomplishing a good many of those things, the Adventuresses were always just having a good time being Sherlockians.  Not to say that the BSI didn’t ever have fun, or that the ASH didn’t get any big things done . . . the ASH just never seemed  to play second fiddle to the BSI, nor care a whit if they were fiddling at all.  It seemed almost like the BSI was the British Navy and the ASH were a band of pirates, both sharing the same sea, but when you came right down to it, which bunch would your inner child long to go sailing with?

As a man (which seems a bold statement for my maturity level, even at fifty), I’m basing all of my notions of the Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes on what I’ve seen of them from the outside all these years.  This year, however, marks the beginning of a different point of view. As one of the happy nineteen newly-added  men of ASH, I now get to see what it’s like on the inside, and I’m looking forward to it.

Will the ASH change its character with the sudden influx of men? I really don’t think so. If you look at their roster with a knowing eye,  you’ll see that the men they’ve brought in are a pretty fun bunch.  Will being a member of the ASH change the character of the men involved? Could be. I remember getting my BSI investiture, and how it seemed like I had made it to the top of a mountain, a goal accomplished.  But this new ASH investiture feels different . . . more like a beginning, finally getting into a nightclub where everyone is witty, charming, and knows how to dance.  Now I have to be witty, charming, and  actually get  to the dance floor.

And that feels kind of good.  Being an ASH might just make me a better Sherlockian, and, interestingly enough, a better BSI. Two complementary pieces of  the Sherlockian life, finally fitting into place. That’s what it means to me, anyway.

What will it mean to the other men of ASH? Only time will tell. But if there’s any talk of calendars,  we’d all better start working out.

Your humble correspondent,

Brad Keefauver, ASH/BSI