63 Days to Opening Day

Opening Day 2008 for the Timber Rattlers is April 3. That is 63 days from today. This off-season, the countdown will be based on books. Each day between now and Opening Day 2008, I will pick a random book out of my library and excerpt a passage off the page number corresponding with the number of days remaining to the first pitch of the new season. I will try not to repeat a book during the countdown.

Today’s book is Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories Volume I by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The excerpt is from A Study in Scarlet and it is unlike any Holmes story. It is unlike any other Holmes story for the following reasons: the narrator of this section is not Dr. Watson, this action is taking place in the United States, and there is no mention of Holmes.

“On, on to Zion!” cried the crowd of Mormons, and the words rippled down the long caravan, passing from mouth to mouth until they died away in a dull murmur in the far distance. With a cracking of whips and a creaking of wheels the great wagons got in motion, and soon the whole caravan was winding along once more. The Elder to whose care the waifs had been committed led them to his wagon, where a meal was already awaiting them.

“You shall remain here,” he said. “In a few days you will have recovered from your fatigues. In the meantime, remember that now and forever you are of our religion. Brigham Young has said it, and he has spoken with the voice of Joseph Smith, which is the voice of God.”

Put today’s excerpt in a baseball context.