return of the king

[photo courtesy of theonering.net]

Yesterday was not the greatest health day (nor the worst), so I desperately needed a good story. I read a few short stories and poems. I selected a paperback from our shelves to read: Atonement. And since we caught part of The Two Towers on TV the other day, we pulled out our Return of the King extended edition DVDs. We started watching during lunch and finished during and after dinner. We stayed up too late, in fact, because we couldn't find a good stopping point. After the epic battle at Minas Tirith, we had to see Aragorn charge the gates of Mordor. Then we had to see Frodo, Sam, and Gollum destroy the evil ring once and for all. The eagles carrying Frodo and Sam to safety. Frodo reunited with the Fellowship ~ laughing-Gandalf and sweet Sam especially. Aragorn crowned as king. Sam married Rosie Cotton. And so on. As the movie progressed, I realized how much I needed to see good triumph over evil in the face of truly impossible odds. The heroes and heroines were so unlikely. Johnny believes Sam is the true hero of the whole story. I agree to a point, but Frodo was willing to bear the burden of the ring. So I think the true heroes were Frodo and Sam together. Those two hobbits are shorter than me, and braver than I'll ever be.

As we fell asleep, I asked a very groggy Johnny, "Who do you most identify with in Lord of the Rings?" He mumbled into his pillow, "I dunno. Go to sleep." I don't know who I identify with either. There are so many rich characters. I've been told that I'm both elf-like and hobbit-like (interesting). I think Eowyn is the coolest female character - we cheered when she killed The Witch King of Angmar - "I am not a man!" My favorite architecture was found in the land of Rohan (very Norwegian, like Kristin Lavransdatter) and Minas Tirith (I love the black and silver tree emblem on their armor and the great stone city).

I also asked Johnny a gazillion questions during the movie. It had been a long, long time since we watched it, and even longer since I read J.R.R. Tolkien's amazing trilogy. My husband is the Tolkien expert - he's read The Lord of the Rings at least 10 times. I've only read it once and loved it, but I'm sensing the need for a re-read at some point this year or next. And Johnny has begged me repeatedly to read The Silmarillion and The Hobbit - I'm embarrassed to admit I never read that classic. Tolkien is quite the writer, freaking incredible. As Johnny and our friend Kemper (another Tolkien expert) say, "No other writer in Western literature has created an entire mythos." And a mythology that seems so real, as if hobbits, elves, dwarfs, maia, orcs, and the like are part of our history; King Aragorn in our lineage.



Next up in our movie-watching is There Will Be Blood. The disc is waiting upstairs. We're just preparing ourselves for the right evening when we can handle Daniel Day-Lewis' intensity. As for TV, we moved Curb Your Enthusiasm (season 6) up in our Netflix queue. Larry David, we've missed your hilarious, horrific behavior.

Lastly, true to the unpredictable nature of yeast die-off, I'm seeing the world brighter today. We're planning a walk 'round the trail after I finish this blog entry as well as some kind of fun outing this week. It'll probably involve a bookstore and tea, and if I play my cards right, maybe a little thrift store shopping. I'm inspired by all the great finds my Mom scored in the Dallas area lately, and Nicole's thriftiness & eye for beauty.