Middle Earth

I came home from work tonight to find the first part of the Lord of the Rings trilogy playing on the tele.  Imagine, someone actually tackled the fantastic piece of literature, preserved the essence of Tolkien's work and converted it into a visual epic.  As I watched the last 30 min or so, it brought back fond memories of friends who fell in love with the world Peter Jackson created.  I also remembered a friend who passed away after leading a tour to middle earth.

There are always going to be people who want more and when Lord of the Rings was released,  Middle Earth became a reality to its fans.  Ohhh the breath taking mountains, the rivers, everything was so much bigger than life.  We cheered the white hats and boo'd the black hats. By the third part, with the signal lights were lit and the camera soared from mountain top to mountain top across the lands.  It was so impressive that you felt as if you were flying across the land.

Yes I know the thousands and thousands of the orc, warriors, etc were computer generated but things were done so well, it was easy to suspend your disbelief and dream yourself into the action.  The movies served as a catalyst for folks to create tours of "Middle Earth"  better known as New Zealand.
 New Zealand, a land once known as the country that had more sheep than people. A country made up of two islands and a few cities. A country that suffered a major earthquake to rival those found in southern California. 

Did I ever think about going on one of the tours?  Yes but it never fit in my schedule.  You want to go on the trip so you hit their spring, summer or fall which is usually when I'm working. Do I have a desire to go back?  Yes and yes you read that correctly.  I've been down there but I only spent a weekend there on my way to Australia.  I have memories of staying at a hotel where I sank so deep in the bed that the top sheets lay straight across the bed.  No bodies were visible.  My father talks about someone pitching(throwing) the morning paper in so it landed on his stomach while he was asleep in bed. Said it was a horrid way to wake up. <grins> 

I never got out of the city on that trip but I do have dreams of going back some day and enjoying the country side and maybe go on my own tour of the countryside where Lord of the Rings was filmed.  I know that many of the buildings for places may be all gone but until I actually go there and have reality intrude upon my dreams, I can visit the hobbits, I can see the elves, I can cry when they are struck down, I can tsk, tsk, tsk, when fathers try to keep their daughters from following their hearts.  I can pretend to be a part of Middle Earth.