Why I Like Lord of the Rings, Part One

The books promote character qualities that are rarely found in modern literature.

The word “perseverance” is not – to my knowledge – mentioned even once in the books. But LOTR is 1000 pages of perseverance.

If you go to the dictionary, you can read a definition of “perseverance”. And, you have learned nothing. If you read LOTR, you read 1000 pages of perseverance, and when you are done, you have a better idea of what it means to keep on doing the right thing, even if the stars fall, even if you loose everything.

LOTR has lots of good words to inspire Christian Character, words that are seldom noted in today’s society, words like:
noble trust brooding wonder wander wrath glory honor dignity mirth courage contentedness loyalty merry gladness generous “truth is important” “astonished joy” savor valor delight wisdom friendship generous

Even the bad words only highlight what is good. Bad is truly bad: wretched sniveling sorrow malice treachery

Why I Like Lord of the Rings, Part Two

Because it has lots of great quotes, such as the following:

Number One:
“Why was I chosen?”
“Such questions cannot be answered; you may be sure it was not for any merit that others do not possess: not for power or wisdom at any rate. But you have been chosen, and you must therefore use such strength and heart and wits as you have.”

Number Two:
“Courage is found in unlikely places.”

Number Three:
Between wonder, joy and fear, they stood and found no words to say.

Number Four:
“But you speak of him as a friend, I thought he was dangerous?”
“Dangerous!” came the reply, “And so am I, very dangerous, and so are your friends around you; and you yourself are dangerous in your own fashion. Certainly he is perilous, yet he is wise and kindly nonetheless.”

Number Five:
“His counsel was not founded on foreknowledge of safety, for himself or others. There are some things that are better to begin than to refuse, even though the end may be dark.”

Why I Like Lord of the Rings, Part Three

This is a bit of an obscure reason, but it is a dear reason to me nonetheless. I like LOTR because Tolkien uses few Latin based words, and makes a healthy and happy use of Anglo-Saxon based words.

The English language has two primary sources: Anglo Saxon (Germanic) from the settlers of the post-Roman times. And Latin based, I think mostly from the French of William the Conqueror in 1066 (or “William the B**" as he was more commonly called in his day).

Anglo Saxon tend to be simple, one-syllable words with clear visual images, while Latin based words just get longer and longer, and are often less precise.

A classic example of the difference between Latin based and Anglo Saxon based, is from an Essay by George Orwell, who quotes Ecclesiastes, and then “translates” it into modern Latin based vocabulary.

To quote Orwell:
“I am going to translate a passage of good English into modern English of the worst sort. Here is a well-known verse from Ecclesiastes:
“I returned and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.”

Here it is in modern English:

“Objective considerations of contemporary phenomena compel the conclusion that success or failure in competitive activities exhibits no tendency to be commensurate with innate capacity, but that a considerable element of the unpredictable must invariably be taken into account.”

This is a parody, but not a very gross one…

End first quote. Orwell goes on to say:

“Now analyze these two sentences a little more closely. The first contains forty-nine words but only sixty syllables, and all its words are those of everyday life. The second contains thirty-eight words of ninety syllables: eighteen of those words are from Latin roots, and one from Greek. The first sentence contains six vivid images, and only one phrase (‘time and chance’) that could be called vague. The second contains not a single fresh, arresting phrase, and in spite of its ninety syllables it gives only a shortened version of the meaning contained in the first. Yet without a doubt it is the second kind of sentence that is gaining ground in modern English.”

End second quote.

So one of the reasons I like Tolkien is because he uses lots of good, clear, precise words such as:

bog fen dell moor heath glade hearth grange gorge glimmer rustle stride glisten strength churn helm toddle babble giggle dawdle wrath linger prattle

These are words that stir my heart and loosen my emotions.

(The Excerpts are from: “Politics and the English Language”, by George Orwell. This essay is probably, outside of the Bible, one of the most influential pieces of literature in my whole life.) This can be found at:

http://www.resort.com/~prime8/Orwell/patee.html

or

http://www.calvinvanhoek.com/articles/2007/04/politics-english-language/

Keeping Busy

Well, just to summarize the past few weeks...

1. Elijah's hearning...Two weeks after Elijah was born, the hospital called and said that he failed his original hearing screen, and it would have to be repeated. Long story short... four doctor visits later, it does appear that he can hear normally, and the first test was a "false positive". So we are glad of that, though had some frustrations for awhile with just not knowing.

2. Paperwork... Elijah is now the proud owner (well, actually, he is somewhat neutral about the whole affair) of a Thai Birth Certificate, US passport, US Birth Abroad Record, and Indian six month visa. Hooray. More paperwork revealed that he evidently does not need a visa for Thailand on this trip (since legally, he never entered Thailand), though one never knows what the airport may bring.

3. Retreating... so we just started a one week retreat up in the hills, and then next week have a couple more meetings and doctor visits, and then finally heading out soon.

4. Traveling...we train out of Chiang Mai for Bangkok on August 4, spend a few days in BKK, and then fly to New Delhi August 12, where we will stay with cousin Amos and Rowena (as Robert Frost said, "Home is that place that, when you go there, they have to take you in.") , and then get train tickets for our Fair city, hopefully arriving back before the 20th.

5. How are the kids? Great. We have childcare at the retreat center, so there is a several little packs of kids running around, including a pack of 6 to 8 year old girls. Nora Grace is ecstatic to have all contact with other children with a Christian world view. Miriam is ecstatic to have someone pay lots of attention to her, Sam is happy because Sam is just "Mr. Happy", and because he can run around and climb a lot, and Elijah is happy as long as lunch is on time.

6. How are Amy and Lowell? we are fine. Thanks for asking. Enjoying having someone else pour some energy into our children, enjoying having other like minded people to talk to, enjoying green grass, trees, running water, croaking frogs, blue sky with white clouds, and other things that I sometimes forget what they look and sound like.

“The Baby” in My Grandmothers Journal…

My paternal Grandmother (“Grossmummy”, for those who know her) was an Amish woman who bore seven children during the difficult years of the Great Depression.

It was my privilege to read her diary/notebook for the year 1932. Grossmummy preferred speaking Pennsylvania Dutch (my loss), but wrote in English, as that was the language of commerce, and most of the “diary” is actually more of a farm journal, telling about the various projects they had going on the farm and elsewhere to try and make ends meet.

The Journal was for the year 1932. My Dad was born in 1931, the sixth of what would be seven children (the two oldest boys – Alvin and Raymond, whom I never met -- had not yet died).

The Journal covered the time from when my Dad was 3 months old, to when he was 15 months old. Most of it tells of the day to day happenings of the farm, lots of details, including prices of wheat and corn and tomatoes etc. Lots of people are mentioned, which children did what, who visited, etc.

At no point does she mention my Dad by name. She only refers to him as “the baby.” She mentions all the other children and numerous other relatives, but there is no “Freddy”, only “the baby.”

Maybe I am reading too much into it, but it does make me wonder what that means. Why would a pre-vaccination, depression era woman not refer to her baby by name?

Maybe it was simply that there were too many of them. :) I have only four, and find myself going through a list of names before I get to the actual name of my fourth child.

It is odd how I don’t care for Pork as much any more.

Our house in India is “halal”. That is an Arabic word, similar to “kosher”. That means there are no pork products allowed in the house. This is for the sake of our Muslim friends, who are forbidden to eat pig meat. While we are free to eat as we please, if our Muslim friends found out that there had once been pig meat on the plates we serve them with, they would find that disgusting and rude.

(Handy hint when having Practicing Muslims over to your home: use paper plates.)

Our friends know we are allowed to eat pork, and are grateful that we have made this sacrifice on their behalf. They even tease us about it.

So when we are not in our home, such as visiting or traveling, there are no problems for us to eat pork, ham, and bacon. But none in our home in India.

After eight years of this, it is odd to me that I neither crave pork products, nor go out of my way to get them. Indeed, while here in Thailand, surrounded by some of the most incredibly luscious pork loins, bacon and ham that we have found, I have no desire to indulge. When it is served, I do eat it, and even enjoy it. But it is strange to me how I do not desire it anymore.

What will my Muslim friends think? If they teased me before, they will REALLY tease me now. :)

I humbly stand willing to be re-acculturated when we get back.

They Really Do Want To Understand Us…

The inscrutable Americans scattered around the world are generally tolerated, and often appreciated. The sheer size of our economy means that it is to the benefit of others to understand Americans.

The people of Thailand are no exception. With a booming economy, and one of the “Asian Tigers”, Thailand is a nation that would benefit a lot from understanding a bit more about this massive trading partner.

So one of the local English language newspapers offers this very helpful service: they print a popular comic strip (in this case, “Calvin and Hobbes”), and then have someone explain the humor in the strip. This is done as a service for those who do not speak English that well.

What a deal, maybe I will learn something myself!

To Clarify About Comments

For those who keep track, I promised at some point in the distant past that I would reply to comments. Well, ... I guess I am not doing that anymore. I do read them and appreciate them, and will often reply, but sorry I haven't replied to all.

"Sam, Would You Knock It Off..."

OK, so that is a direct quote from me, the Dad, to the number one son.

Who would have thought, years ago, that mild-mannered and good-natured Lowell would be using such strong language with his own child.

The funny thing is, I don't think I feel sorry. It really struck me as the most appropriate thing to say. I am trying to remember if my Dad ever said that (or the generational equivalent) to me? I am sure I probably deserved it on many occasions.

He really is a good kid, but, wow, he can be relentless. :)