[Mithadan]

Interesting thread. A lot of different things to discuss here. I prefer to not be disjointed, so I'll try and focus on one subject; the thread as titled.

Growing up, I knew virtually no one who really read Tolkien. Yes, the Hobbit was read by a fourth grade class (not mine), but I do not recall it ever mentioned after that. So when I began to really devour LoTR over and over again, "to protect myself" from ridicule I did not speak about it. Easy enough, since I knew no one else who was interested.

By the time I got to college, I sometimes would meet a somewhat kindred spirit, but generally, discussion or analysis did not take place. Perhaps, the others were also "protecting themselves." After all, I recall seeing the Bakshi movie in the theater. Several rows back in the not very crowded cinema was a long-haired, ill-groomed person sitting alone eating popcorn and audibly saying "gollum" over and over again. Can't be like that... Must protect myself...

So it was not until I found that the internet could be used for something other than research or the news, that I began to let down the mask and participate in on line forums and discussions, primarily here. But only while hiding behind a screen name. One must protect one's self...