What do you love about the Barrowdowns?

[lindil]

I mostly just love my own posts

Obloquy cut through all of my false-humility with that one.

Actually I ahve gotten a kick at reading something I wrote nearly 3 years ago! and being suprised that I knew waht I said, having forgotten it in the intervening years.

I have learned so much here [well OK 'been exposed to ' would be more accurate, I don't know how much I have made my own]:

• Better grammar and spelling!
• a certain graciousness in conversation
• how to follow arcane and painfully convulted threads and come out the other side.
• seeing your old posts years later
• getting to do Translations from the Elvish!
• Being exposed to the depths and Wonders of HoM-E - I had only read 1 and 2 when they came out, and browsed abit on the others.
• seeing the newfound joy and wonder for those just encountering the LotR [ or Silm or UT] for the first time.
• Seeing some of the great thinkers and posters year after year, and being part of the 'elders' - I prob shouldn't mention it, but it is a nice warm buzz.
• Oh, and realizing I know practically nothing about the vast subject of Sindarin and Quenya, and probably never will!
• and seeing how self-reflective the Downs has become! [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

I mean it was so amazing to wander in here when it was only a month old or something and just dive in with some great minds. After having Middle-Earth 'all to myself' for 20 + years it was a long cool refreshing draught - that my wife still does not understand!

The Downs is a marvel, and even though I am away sometimes for a month or 2 and even when I am around I can't to get to 1/3 of the topics I wish I could, knowing that it is living and breathing and generating discussion and wonder is an unexpected comfort in this strange and often cruel world. Seriously. [img]smilies/cool.gif[/img] IT is a veritable Cyber-Imladris.

lindil

[ July 25, 2003: Message edited by: lindil ]