Some Gnomes Don't Roam

I'm been thinking a lot lately about gnomes... there are a lot of similarities between cubicle gnomes and the gnomes of fables.

For instance, gnomes are reputed to live underground. While that's not exactly the residence of cubicle gnomes, their usual dwelling place is far removed from the experience of most normal folk (a.k.a. The Funhouse et al).

Gnomes are reluctant to interact with humans; a cubicle gnome, especially an accounting gnome, by nature prefers spreadsheets and memoes to real live people, and if The Funhouse is any example, there's a very good reason!

Gnomes are believed to be the guardians of treasure, and in particular, gold. Cubicle gnomes, in their natural environment, are the keepers of some very important treasure-- staplers, hole punches, corner offices...Many lives have been lost in the fight over "stolen" staplers and offices with windows!

Gnomes are fictional creatures; cubicle gnomes, on the other hand, often wish that they were fictional! Just think of it..if you were fictional, you wouldn't need to show up for work, you wouldn't need to produce, produce, produce, and most of all, you wouldn't have a boss!

But there is one redeeming characteristic of both types of gnomes: they are cute!
Goldarn it, they are so cute that they should be celebrated...

A very well-known Dutch illustrator, Rien Poortvliet, along with the author, Wil Huygen, has made a living chronicling the life and work of gnomes ("Leven en Werken van de Kabouter"), which has been translated into English as "Gnomes". His work is really worth a look--if you aren't rolling in the aisles laughing about something on each page, perhaps you ought to check the obituaries for your own name!!