“in a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.”
— j.r.r. tolkien, the hobbit
the real-people hobbit movie came out friday. i say “real-people” to distinguish it from ralph bakshi’s cartoon movie of the 1970s, which, when i was about six or seven, marked my first introduction to j.r.r. tolkien and hobbits. although it is quirky and an abbreviated version of the story, i love it very, very much. bakshi’s smaug, in voice and appearance, is all that a dragon should be.
in between the ages of seven and twenty-five, i’ve become a bit hobbity myself, as people who enjoy the simple things of life are apt to. i have three lovely pipes, as a good hobbit might … though i can’t say i’ve ever smoked them.
i could talk about cheese for a while, and fireworks, but let’s move on for now.
as i was saying, the real-people hobbit movie by peter jackson came out friday. my friend roberta, who is very hobbity, in spite of also being kind of tall, organized a group to go see it at 12:01 friday morning. at first i thought “oh, that sounds fun, but —”
“but” being a long work thursday and a symphony concert afterward. i decided to go … then thought about all the people and cars that would be at the theatre and how late i would get home … and decided not to go. then i changed my mind. after all, what is a midnight screening of a film with hordes of excited people but a chance at humorous adventure? with a promise secured that i would be poked awake if i chanced to fall asleep during the film, i bought my ticket.
and so on thursday night i found myself in a theatre full of enthusiastic, costumed hobbit fans, gasping and wincing and laughing and grinning right along with everyone else.
it was lovely, and i was glad, like bilbo, to have taken my friends up on the adventure.
