Celebrating Fictional Characters

Today is the birthday of Bilbo Baggins and his nephew Frodo Baggins, protagonists in “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings.” I read the books when I was 13-14 years old, decades ago. No one I knew had read them or were interested in talking about them. I was alone in my adoration.

Fast forward more years than I care to count and enter the movies by Peter Jackson. He strayed a bit from the books. The Ring NEVER went to Gondor, and Frodo was far more courageous than he was given credit, to name a few.

However, I’m open minded…okay, not at first. Ask my sister. My sister wanted to go see “The Fellowship of the Ring,” but I’d only go with her if she paid. I didn’t want to waste my money.

The Prologue set the scene, but I remained skeptical. I saw the Shire and knew it immediately. Scene after scene enchanted, ensnared, captivated, but I’m slow to trust. Others have tried, and I’ve been disappointed. It had been a few years since I’d read the books, so my memories were a bit fuzzy. I was drawing on what I could remember and finding the movie to be close enough.

But what would happen when it came time to cross the ford? I remember being enthralled by the rushing water looking like horses. Would Jackson fail? It filled the screen, and I relaxed and enjoyed the movie. I allowed myself to feel a wide range of emotions, embracing all of them (fear, sadness, anger, joy, uncertainty, excitement, and so many more) instead of trying to avoid them, a new and thrilling experience. It changed me.

I found the official fan club online and discovered a host of people who loved LOTR like I did, some more and some less. Some of us are still friends. I’ve flown to new places to meet people I only knew online. We’ve had numerous, wonderful adventures.

One thing led to another and I started writing fan fiction, using Tolkien’s characters. One of my readers suggested I try my hand at writing for a publisher. My first response was that I couldn’t possibly. Thinking about it, I wondered, “Why not?” I didn’t have to send it to a publisher. I would just see if I could do it.

With being my dad’s caregiver, I didn’t have much time for writing. I’d like to tackle it again, but I’m still distracted, a lot. Not giving up though.

So Happy Birthday Bilbo and Frodo and thanks for all the happy memories Professor Tolkien.