via the phone

Well, that was the most unusual recorded phone message I've gotten in quite a while, not that I get many of them these days.

To take it from the beginning, this woman had been browsing EBay and found an auction for an old pocket watch inscribed "R.W. Reynolds." Curious as to whether that might be anyone important, she did a web search and found my blog post for the Tolkien Society about Tolkien's schoolmaster of that name.

So she thought somebody who was that interested in Reynolds might want his relics, so she searched for a way to contact me and let me know about the auction. Apparently my phone number was easier to find than my e-mail, which is mighty peculiar, but at the moment she phoned, both B. and I had our headphones on and didn't hear the ring. So she left a message.

In her assumptions she's mistaken. I'm not that interested in Reynolds, only insofar as his significance re Tolkien, and I wrote about his personal history only because it made an interesting story. I don't collect relics, and we don't even know for sure if it's the same guy.

So I won't be phoning back - there'd be nothing to say except "yes, you did find the author of that piece" - but what another weird story.