As in years past, January 3rd is a special evening. Tonight, I will join other J.R.R. Tolkien fans from around the world in raising a glass to toast the birthday of this much loved author at precisely 21:00 (9:00pm) local time. I have chosen a special combination of cranberry juice and soda for the occasion.
The toast is simply “The Professor.
“May it be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out.” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
“It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end… because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing… this shadow. Even darkness must pass.” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers
On The Road Book Club 
There are very few authors, if any at all, that I love and respect more than Tolkien. He has been beloved in my young years, and still at the top of my “best loved” authors. You may be sure that I will be celebrating “CHEERS, CHEERS”
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Wasn’t it fun to read Lord of the Rings together!!!
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The Professor! Cheers, Rebecca and thank you for yet another unknown to me tradition. Keep ’em coming in 2022!
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I am delighted you joined me for a toast to the professor. I love traditions!!! Sending hugs!
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I love the quotes you chose! To The Professor!!
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J.R.R. Tolkien has the best quotes. And now that I’m looking at War and Peace, WOW – another treasure trove of quotes to be savored. To The Professor!
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So far the quotes I’ve found in War and Peace are of the snarky variety–but I’m a connoisseur of snark, so that’s a good thing!
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You are the most un-snarky person I know. And you are a connoisseur of many things that are un-snarky.
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Thank you for saying so, Rebecca!
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Great presentation and Tolkien quotes, Rebecca! There are few novels I’ve reread more than “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy.
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I am with you, Dave! I was reading on the Tolkien Gateway that Christopher Lee read all of Tolkien’s books once a year and that he actually met J.R.R. Tolkien while visiting the Eagle and Child during the 1950’s. Can you imagine the meeting!! http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Christopher_Lee
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A wonderful tribute to Tolkien, Rebecca. He was a genius.
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Thank you, Robbie. As I was saying to Dave, I was on Tolkien Gateway that features Christopher Lee’s thoughts about J.R.R. Tolkien. This is one of the quotes that I think you will enjoy:
“I did meet him [Tolkien], very briefly, in the Fifties. It was in a pub that he used to go to in Oxford, called the Eagle and Child. I was there having a beer and I was completely overcome when he walked in. I had already started reading the books and thought, “This man has created a unique form of literature – one of the great works of all time.” While I was filming The Lord of the Rings, I thought about what he would have thought all the time, and hope he would have approved. I’m still an enormous fan – I read The Lord of the Rings every year.”http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Christopher_Lee
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I agree with Christopher Lee that Tolkien did create a unique form of literature and it is a great work. Thank you, Rebecca.
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