Gnome away from home

One of the reasons I love the Internet so much is that I am constantly discovering little nuggets of information that I never knew existed before. Here's an example: just before the new year, I received the following e-mail from a friend in Houston:

"Our garden gnome, a memento of southern France & memorial to a deceased friend, has gone missing. Tuesday or Wednesday, we noticed that the fencing on the side of the house had been knocked over, as well as a pot on the garden side. This would have occurred in broad daylight. We suspected an agent of the gas company. Nothing seemed amiss until today when we noticed that the gnome had gone missing. Since it is not visible from the street and nothing else seems to have been touched, it could only have been removed by someone familiar with the garden, acting with specific intent. We hope and pray that the perpetrator of this ghastly deed understands both the physical and emotional needs of this object and that one day it finds its way home again. I don'’t expect that we will sleep well tonight in the knowledge that it is probably very frightened and confused."

For some odd reason, this caused me to Google the phrase "stolen garden gnome", and the results revealed a fascinating slice of life which I had not thought much about previously. Evidently, there are quite a few people (primarily in France, which says something right there) who earnestly believe that garden gnomes are victims of "oppressive", evil homeowners, and must be "liberated from captivity". Some kidnapped garden gnomes have been sent on trips around the world, being passed from person to person and photographed at different famous landmarks, with the photos being returned to the owner.

A little history: The first garden gnomes were introduced to the United Kingdom in 1847 by Sir Charles Isham, when he brought 21 terracotta figures back from a trip to Germany and placed them around the gardens of his home, Lamport Hall in Northamptonshire. Only one of the original batch of gnomes survives: Lampy, as he is known (left), is on display at Lamport Hall, and is insured for one million pounds. Gnomes have become a frequent accessory in many gardens, although they are more popular in Europe than here in the US. They are thought to bring good luck to the tenders of the garden, keeping away evil spirits that could inhibit the garden's growth.

But not everyone feels this way. A French group by the name of "FLNJ" (Front de Liberation des Nains de Jardin) or "The Gnome Liberation Front" is particularly notorious, having been responsible for hundreds, if not thousands, of "gnome-nappings" all over the Continent in recent years. After 20 gnomes were stolen from a weekend exhibition in Paris, the Front released a statement that said, in part, ""We demand ... that garden gnomes are no longer ridiculed and that they be released into their natural habitat". It warned that it would strike again unless the show was closed and all the gnomes released. On another occasion, the group claimed responsibility for a "mass suicide" of eleven stolen gnomes that were found dangling by their necks from a bridge overpass in the town of Briey, in eastern France. A letter found nearby said: "When you read these few words we will no longer be part of your selfish world, where we serve merely as pretty decoration". Clearly, this terrorist organization is far more dastardly than al-Qaeda ... well, at least if you're made of ceramic and less than three feet tall.

So far my friend has not received a photograph of his gnome in Abe's lap at the Lincoln Memorial, or any ransom demands, but as this event has unfolded we have both learned of a new phenomenon. All I can say is, it's a pretty freaking strange world.