E-mail about my buddy Gnorman the Gnome

Below is an e-mail I got from a blog reader in the United Kingdom. I've removed her name, plus other info that is not relevant to Gnorman the Gnome. (By the way, that readers from anywhere in the world can read my blog is one of the cool things that I like about living in the Internet Age).

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Hi, John -

Had a look at your blog, and saw Gnorman (love the name)!

I was just wondering how garden gnomes (I assume Gnorman is of that sub-species) are regarded in the US. In the UK, they are generally regarded by people who consider themselves proper gardeners as being rather tacky. Anyway, the Chelsea Flower Show is THE top gardening show in the UK, and recently a reporter from the Today Programme (a serious and influential radio current affairs programme) smuggled in Nicholas the gnome:

Might amuse you.

C. in the United Kingdom

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Hi, C. in the United Kingdom!

First, thanks for reading my blog! Sorry for the delay in the reply, but I had a 4 day weekend this weekend. :-)

As for gnomes here in the US, while they have been around for some time, I've only recently seen them used with more frequency. I guess you might say that they had become something of a fad, because they've also been in some of our TV advertisements.

As for my buddy Gnorman, he's actually something called a Gnomad, in which you are supposed to photograph the traveling gnome in your city, and then hand him off to someone else who is going to another place. A website for the gnomads helps keep track of your gnome and where he's been.

This is a unique idea suited for our mobile society that keeps in touch via the Internet. When I go to San Antonio (Texas) in about a month, I'll hand off Gnorman to someone there so that my buddy Gnorman can start his travels. :-)

By the way, I asked Gnorman about whether he hangs in gardens like other gnomes, and he said, "Heck no! I have allergies! That's why I'm a traveling gnome!" I guess all gnomes can't be gardeners. ;-)

If you don't mind, I'd like to post your e-mail and my reply to it onto my blog. I will keep you anonymous, of course. I'd like to do that because of the info you provided below, and because your communicating with me from the UK shows just how interconnected we are in this day and age. :-)

Thanks, and God bless

John

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Dear John –

>Sorry for the delay in the reply, but I had a 4 day weekend this weekend. :-)

Yeah, my heart bleeds for you! (No, not really!) :D

This was the first time I’d heard about Gnomad. It’s certainly better than being the common garden variety (literally!) – you get to see the world!

I heard the following story – probably apocryphal – more than ten years ago in the UK. Anyway, a man goes into his garden, and finds his gnome missing. There’s a note that says he (the gnome) is tired of being stuck in the garden, and he’s leaving. Over the months that follow, the man receives postcards signed by the gnome from all over the world. Then the postcard stops. Some time later, the gnome reappears in his old spot in the garden. Wonder which came first – this story or the Gnomad idea?

C. in the United Kingdom

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Dear C. in the United Kingdom,

I don't know who created the Gnomads, but if the story you told me is true, it might indeed be the basis of the creation of the Gnomad line. I wouldn't be surprised.

John