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alatar · 09-13-2007, 11:43 AM

I'm going to define my Gandalf as that encouraging father-figure, the person in your life that guides you, is wise beyond your understanding (relatively) and lives by some ideal that structures the way that they live. No one person fits the description, and so I offer four examples in my life:

My father. He was always a more quiet and calm man, loved to read and was very thoughtful. I see some of Gandalf in him. My father was famous for the statement, "The sun will rise tomorrow," where he meant that, in the midst of calamity, great joy and/or chaos, that the sun would show up yet again the next day despite all of our detailed planning, worries and concerns.
My stepfather. When I think of Gandalf's bristling brows and temper, it brings this guy to mind. My stepfather - maybe a bit like Saruman? - knows a lot about making things, fixing things and changing things around. I was always amazed that he could give pretty close guesses to the problems in my (Newtonian) physics book. He is very fair, brooks no fools, has a volcanic temper yet can caper like the best hobbit. He's very "can do" - two heart valve replacements and a barely functioning heart have not stopped him from building a house, adding an addition (to a house) and replacing the engine in his truck (by himself). When I ask why he doesn't take it a little easier, he responds with, "Why!?! So I can die in my chair...you fool of a Took!" Actually, he would never quote Tolkien.
An old friend's father. My buddy's dad knew the names of all of the trees when we went hiking, knew which plants we could eat and how to build a fire with nary a match.
My college biology teacher. Not only was he wise, he was a wise guy, and also would bark at me when I didn't perform to what he thought was my ability. Before his class and subsequent mentoring, I thought that college professors were one step below saints. This guy put that myth to rest, and the reason that he makes me think of Gandalf is the smoking thing. Though my teacher didn't smoke, he seemed like a normal nutsy person that just so happened to know a lot about biology. To me, he reflected the 'old fallible man' part of Gandalf.

09-13-2007, 11:43 AM	#3
alatar Doubting Dwimmerlaik Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Heaven's basement Posts: 2,466	I'm going to define my Gandalf as that encouraging father-figure, the person in your life that guides you, is wise beyond your understanding (relatively) and lives by some ideal that structures the way that they live. No one person fits the description, and so I offer four examples in my life: My father. He was always a more quiet and calm man, loved to read and was very thoughtful. I see some of Gandalf in him. My father was famous for the statement, "The sun will rise tomorrow," where he meant that, in the midst of calamity, great joy and/or chaos, that the sun would show up yet again the next day despite all of our detailed planning, worries and concerns. My stepfather. When I think of Gandalf's bristling brows and temper, it brings this guy to mind. My stepfather - maybe a bit like Saruman? - knows a lot about making things, fixing things and changing things around. I was always amazed that he could give pretty close guesses to the problems in my (Newtonian) physics book. He is very fair, brooks no fools, has a volcanic temper yet can caper like the best hobbit. He's very "can do" - two heart valve replacements and a barely functioning heart have not stopped him from building a house, adding an addition (to a house) and replacing the engine in his truck (by himself). When I ask why he doesn't take it a little easier, he responds with, "Why!?! So I can die in my chair...you fool of a Took!" Actually, he would never quote Tolkien. An old friend's father. My buddy's dad knew the names of all of the trees when we went hiking, knew which plants we could eat and how to build a fire with nary a match. My college biology teacher. Not only was he wise, he was a wise guy, and also would bark at me when I didn't perform to what he thought was my ability. Before his class and subsequent mentoring, I thought that college professors were one step below saints. This guy put that myth to rest, and the reason that he makes me think of Gandalf is the smoking thing. Though my teacher didn't smoke, he seemed like a normal nutsy person that just so happened to know a lot about biology. To me, he reflected the 'old fallible man' part of Gandalf. __________________ There is naught that you can do, other than to resist, with hope or without it.