"You're sad, you are!"

[MatthewM]

Originally Posted by Hookbill the Goomba

Of course, the argument is always raised that these things (sports, celebrities etcetera) are from 'real life' and this Middle Earth is not.

So, why do we do it? The 'reality' of Middle Earth may be debatable, but we just can't stop loving it! This topic is here for us to discuss our trials and tribulations as Tolkien fans. When has a useful quote from Gandalf got you out of a tight spot? A quick "what would Bilbo do in these circumstances" given you a new way of looking at things? A Gollum riddle stumped your friends?
Do we all get a hard time from others about our supposed 'obsessive' behavior?

What a great topic! I can completely identify with being badgered by non-believers, and could go in depth about circumstances I've been in. There's been many! Just recently, actually, I was in the car with my best friend who is not a Tolkien fan. He doesn't dislike it, but he only knows the movies. Anyway, my car is decked with LotR decals such as the Leaf of Lorien, the White Tree, the One Ring script, and a Gondor sticker. He asked me what the Leaf was, and I told him it was the Leaf of Lorien. He started to laugh, saying it's funny how I treat it as if it was real. I rebuked him by saying "it was!"

Needless to say, we went on and on for the whole car ride...he kept asking me questions and when I told him the answer, he purposely messed with the way a name was pronounced, just to try and get to me (yeah, he's that type of kid). For example, "Sauron" became "Zordon", and so on. Yes he is annoying. The "real life" thing kicked in again because I tried to relate my obssesion with him. He's obsessed with hockey - the NHL. He of course used the argument, like Hookbill pointed out, that hockey is real and Middle-earth isn't. I rebuked him again by saying "that hasn't been proven yet!" And his needless badgering went on. I could think of a ton of these sorts of instances, but I'll leave it at that one. People I talk to who don't know Tolkien find it amusing that I can tell them pretty much everything about LotR and Middle-earth.

When has a useful quote from Gandalf got you out of a tight spot? A quick "what would Bilbo do in these circumstances" given you a new way of looking at things? A Gollum riddle stumped your friends?

There is hardly a time when I don't think "what would Pippin do in this situation?" or Boromir, or Aragorn, etc. And many a time I have made the right decisions based on trying to think as one of Tolkien's characters! I have also, of course, borrowed many lines from the book and the movies during conversation.

Great topic! Middle-earth is much deeper and meaningful than any non-believer could understand.