I remember it vividly. After a night out, I was spending the night at my best friend's house. The girl I was dating at the time called me as I was on the way to my friend's house. "Call me when you get to Matthew's house," she said as she hung up the phone 'without responding to my "I love you". I thought nothing of it, at the time. I get to my friend's house and, while still outside, call my girlfriend's cell phone. Blah, blah, blah. Long story short, after a year of dating and making future plans, she decides she wants to break up. Like I said, blah. I am now happily married with a beautiful 13 month old daughter. What does this phone call 13 years ago have to do with this blog? We'll get there.
My friend could tell I took it pretty hard. Yes, I cried. "We should watch a movie," Matthew said, not sure, I think, what to say. I really didn't care what we did. He went to his DVD cabinet and pulled out Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. As ashamed as I am to admit it, I had never heard of this. "It began with forging of the great rings." Galadriel said this and I wondered, "What began?" Little did I know, something began that would change my life forever. I watched with eager eyes, asking my friend every question I could think of. Who is he? Who is she? Where are they going? My mind was racing with excitement and impatience, as I wanted each scene to come faster and faster. Then, without realizing the time that had elapsed, Frodo and Sam, leaving the company behind, were off to Mordor, where the shadows lie.
Sitting on the couch, in shock and awe, I couldn't find anyting to say. I had just watched one of the greatest films I had ever seen. Black Riders charging into Bree, Strider fighting those same Riders off on Weathertop, the fellowship forming, the fellowship breaking. So much had happened. Then, I was given news that changed my entire perspective. "Man, if you thought the movie was good, you should read the books," my friend said. What? Wait a minute. This film was based off an actual story? "What books?", I asked. My friend looked at me in disbelief. "You're kidding, right?" he responded. Obviously, I was not. I had no clue as to which books he was referring. "You've never heard of J. R. R. Tolkien?" Again, I was forced to answer with a shamed 'no'. My friend had a paperback copy of the story and handed it to me. I looked it over and said I would give it a read. Whether on purpose or not, I had forgotten the news I had heard just three hours earlier. It no longer seemed to matter. Now, am I sayting that I was over the break up? Not by any means. I simply had something new to occpy mind, if only for a while.
That 'while' has lasted to this day. I often find myself asking the age old question. "Who exacty is Tom Bombadil? Mair? One of the Valar in an 'earthly' form? I research it often, still with no answer. This brings me to the point of this post. After reading The Lord of the Rings that summer in 2003, I came to find myself lost in the world of Middle Earth or Ea, I later found out it was called during the Music. I haved looked into and researched many characters in the Tolkien world. There are many yet to go. With this blog, I plan to delve a little deeper, just as the Dwarves of Moria did, into the characters I've missed. I can only hope I don't awaken the Balrog in the end.
