Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Lost

A message pops up on my computer telling me that Cranky Old Man has had a couple of new views. Surprising to me since the Old Man has been off doing other things.

This brings to mind the somewhat circular thought, "Not all who wander are lost."

This is part of a longer quote by J.R.R. Tolkien from The Lord of the Rings that goes: All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."

One can take issue with this, one can take issue with anything, one often does when one is a Cranky Old Man. Thus, even gold may glitter and yet be bitter, some if not most are lost, the old eventually do wither, and deep roots are furthest away from the water.

J.R.R. Tolkien did get a lot right. In The Lord of the Rings, Frodo is a hobbit of the Shire who inherits the One Ring from his cranky cousin the older Bilbo Baggins and undertakes the quest to destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom.

One is left to wonder where Frodo goes at the end of his wanderings. In the book, he remains in Middle-Earth with his grandsons Elladan and Elrohir before departing some time in the Fourth Age. The shire is restored and it is the time of the ascent of man.

How is that working for us?