For all these long years, since I first read The Hobbit and The Trilogy in the summer of 1969, I have loved the books, cherishing the characters, the various places, and languages as if they actually existed. Well, in MY mind, they DID exist.

I knew exactly what Gandalf looked like, how tall the Hobbits were, the length of Aragorn’s strides; the beauty of the Shire, Rivendell, Lothlórien; the grandeur of Rohan and Minas Tirith; the horror of Shelob; the heat, dust and stench of Mordor; the weight of The One Ring.

I felt the determination and strength of many individuals in many different races who came together in a desperate need to destroy the evil that would otherwise rule their lives. And they performed their obligations with bravery and courage despite the possibility of failure. Despite the possibility of death…

For all of these long years I lived in this world by myself, knowing no one else who had read the books or, if they had, they did not have the obsession with them that I had. That obsession made me read them nearly every other year, nearly wearing out my paperbacks as time went by. Crying at the ending, not because it was sad, but because I was saying goodbye to dear friends… Because the story was over…

And so I felt a great apprehension when I heard that *MY* books were going to be made into movies. I admit I had refused to watch the other versions of them years before, not wanting to lose *MY* images of the many characters and various locations. And even though these new movies would be made with real people in real locations, I was very skeptical. How in Middle~Earth could anyone bring these books to life and do them justice???

Yet, I was also filled with curiosity and anticipation. And a long wait. It was spring of 1999 when I had first heard that they would be making the movies. Oh, such a long, long wait. But in the meantime, I had the books to read and wonder if the movies would even come close to representing Tolkien’s masterpiece.

When December of 2001 finally approached, I admit I was ready. I had seen enough trailers and read enough reviews to know this WAS going to be good. Maybe not entirely the same, but good! It was with that thought in mind, that they could not be the same and therefore I should not compare them to the books, that I went to see “The Fellowship of the Ring” on the day after it was released in the theaters.

I was amply rewarded!!! The wait, the anxiety, the anticipation were all met with a richness, a truth, and an obvious love of the books that I had. I walked out of the theater and bought tickets to the very next showing that wasn’t sold out – which was several days later. I also bought the sound track, only the second movie soundtrack I had ever purchased!

It was then that I considered Peter Jackson and his crew to be nearly as creative as Tolkien himself. Even though they had changed some things, such as leaving out Glorfindel and Tom Bombadil and expanding Arwen’s part, it didn’t matter to me. The film was a masterpiece and paid great homage to the books. Oh, the ship that Gandalf blew and floated through Bilbo’s smoke ring!!!

It was this attention to detail that drew me back three more times to watch it on the big screen, impatiently wait for the DVD to be released in August, watch it numerous times until the EE version was released in November, and THEN, the long wait, that long year wait for “The Two Towers” was finally over!

But a strange thing happened during the third viewing on the big screen of “The Two Towers”… I lost all of my mind’s visions of the characters and places of the books. Now, when I think of Gandalf, I see in my mind the film Gandalf. And Rohan is the film Rohan. And although it seemed strange at the time, to me it really didn’t matter because yet again Peter Jackson and his crew had performed the impossible and had, in fact, brought Middle~Earth to life! It was another masterpiece!

Yes, I bought the soundtrack and the DVD and the EE…

In February of 2003 that I realized there were now others who had the same love of the stories that I had and maybe they were out there on the internet where I could talk with them and wouldn’t feel so all alone with my obsession. One fateful day, while searching for “Tolkien”, I came across a site called “The Council of Elrond” where I found lots of people who did in fact have that same obsession and enjoyed discussing it. CoE was a place where I wasn’t ridiculed for my thoughts about certain parts of the books or movies or where I even shared my life apart from the books. I have met some wonderful people who have become dear friends.

This time, together we waited for the third and final movie. This time I wasn’t alone in my wait. This time would be one of the best experiences of my life! And I was not disappointed! If anything, the movies and CoE have greatly enhanced my love of the books, if that is possible. All three have enriched my life beyond imagination. For that I thank J.R.R. Tolkien, Peter Jackson and crew, and Rivka and her staff for all they have done to make my journey through this life one of the best anyone could every have. I learn and live and love through these books, movies and site and come away with a greater appreciation for life in general, and specifically, to live it to the fullest while I have the time.

by NenyaGold

Print Friendly, PDF & Email