Waves of action crashing on the shores of my mind...

Book #2: The Two Towers

Author: J.R.R. Tolkien

For whatever reason it took me 20 million years to make it through The Fellowship of the Ring, despite the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed it. As soon as I jumped into The Two Towers I have been completely and totally hooked. I have only pulled it away from my attention in order to work and sleep (as well as to write this blog post).

When I am not reading the book I am obsessively thinking about it. What is going to happen to Frodo? What will happen to the rest of the Company? How did Gandalf manage to come back? 

Late Saturday night (in actuality it was really early Sunday morning), I made my way through the Dead Marshes with Frodo, Sam and Gollum, then realized it was 5:30 a.m. I needed to go to bed in order to be well-rested for my double shift, but was being pulled by two thoughts. On one hand, I wanted to continue reading the book, while on the other I was sleepy but too afraid to go to sleep for fear of nightmares of dead bodies and creepy candles under the shallow water.

I conceded and put on an episode of the Gilmore Girls in order to distract myself, then dozed off for two hours in order to get ready for work.

During one of my shifts today I even found myself pointing out characters at my restaurant. A man at one of my tables was very goblin-like. His large satellite-style ears and bizarre facial features made me think of him covered in iron mail and a helm, carrying a spear, running after me and my faithful companion Sam Gamgee...then the rather short dishwasher (who shall remain nameless) was a natural hobbit. 

I brought my problem up to one of my coworkers, who (making me feel slightly less insane) said that it would be way more exciting if our pizzeria was more like The Lord of the Rings. To this I replied with the following:

      "One pizza to rule them all,               

           One pizza to find them.                 

      One pizza to bring them all,               

           and in the darkness bind them."  

I seriously need some help. Anyways, the book is great so far, and I am about a hundred pages away from completing it and moving onto Return of the King.

I will take the Ring, though I do not know the way...

I sit beside the fire and think
   Of people long ago,
And people who will see a world
   That I shall never know. p. 271

This quote from Bilbo in Book II, Chapter III of The Fellowship of the Ring reminds me of the Iroquois principle of the seven generations. In Iroquois culture, every decision that we make is made while thinking about the effects on the next seven generations.

It is with this thought of working toward a better future for everyone in Middle Earth that Frodo Baggins decides to leave the Company at the end of The Fellowship of the Ring alone, though the smart Mr. Sam Gamgee figures out his plan just in time to follow the invisible, ring-wearing Frodo into a boat and off to Mordor.

Now I venture into The Two Towers and look forward with both anticipation and fear as to what will be in store for our two favorite halflings...