TORn Thanksgiving Day Poll -- Vote to Pick the Date...

weaver

weaver

Half-elven
Here is the promised TORn Thanksgiving Day Poll...please vote for your preference in terms of the best time of year for this kind of Board event.

For more information on what this is all about, see this link:

http://newboards.theonering.net/forum/gforum/perl/gforum.cgi?post=109548#109548

Four notes:

1. The choices above came from various TORn members (many from gramma!) -- feel free to suggest another date though, if you have another idea....

2. Many of you chimed in on my original post, but if anyone has other ideas to share, please post them here!

3. If you want to help organize our first TORn Thanksgiving, including figuring out things like what we call it, sign up here or PM me.

4. There's still time to register an opinion about whether or not we do this at all...see the last three options on the Poll.

Thanks for your input!
 
Last edited:
have celebrated that day in the past, and that fact is known (as is Fiesta Friday) by all current and former members of this board, so we wouldn't have to remind folks of another celebration date. I like the idea of it being a "Thanksgiving" of sorts, very much, I just think we should combine the dates so more people will know and remember to join us on that date.
 
Although, it's not a strong preference. When faced with lots of choices and no clear front runner, I let my gut rule. I eliminated dates in the following manner

My gut pushed me away from Sept 22 and Tolkien's Bday. Those days are about Tolkien and the story and I think they deserve their own celebration w/o competition from something else.

Start of New Boards... isn't a strong enough 'TORn date'. It kind of negates what came before.
Start of TORn... good idea. I was worried it wouldn't stick out for me enough. I was part of the mass that trickled in and so TORn's first doesn't hold any personal significance. But I like it.

Destruction of the Ring. didn't do anything for me.

Founding of the Fellowship... not bad. I like it as well.

 Gandalf Visits Bilbo and invites him to go on an adventure - hmm... an adventure. These thoughts came to mind.

When I finished the first version of my website, I wrote some 'Final Thoughts'. I felt like I had walked out my door and followed my feet and the path had led me places I could never have dreamed. I was a different person in August 2004 than I had been in June 2002 when I rediscovered Tolkien. (Even though the earliest beginnings of that rediscovery was Dec 15, 2001... when I saw FOTR for the first time.) I wrote,
"Tolkien has been a major focus of my life the last two years: discussing the book, delving into the Silmarillion, enjoying the movies, examining the soundtrack, learning new skills (like web design), and meeting new friends. I'm taking the skills I've learned, tapping into the confidence I've found, picking up new areas of interest (mythology) and embarking on some new paths in my life. Now where did I put that handkerchief?"
​
You might recognize the nod to Bilbo starting his adventure. Like Bilbo, my life had changed in ways untold.


Thinking about how my life had changed made me think of Tehanu's Twenty-Second Note: Where to From Here? Here... being life after the release of the ROTK movie. What now? She wrote,
Luckily for everyone, TORN was about more than just spy reports on the movies. As nice as it was to receive those spymails, I enjoyed just as much the constant stream of mail from people who wanted to discuss Tolkien. People who offered points of view, who debated and explained, who brought their life experience to bear on their understanding of the books. Best of all was the diversity -- there were Tolkien fans of all ages and backgrounds from so many parts of the world. As time went on I began to sense a community that was growing across the distances. I could read between the lines and trace how for some people the act of entering this community enlarged their lives and in some cases freed them from a burden of dullness, isolation and entrapment. There can be nothing that has given me more satisfaction.
​
and a bit further on...
We've spent five years watching something that was fun. We enjoyed it whole-heartedly and without self-interest. We didn't question whether it had any point. It just was, and we were child-like in our acceptance of it. Because our guard was down, it enriched our lives before we knew it. Now the challenge is to ask ourselves what it is that we love to do the way the film-makers loved to do their work. It's time to notice the silly drawings we used to do, but put aside when we grew up. Time to remember the dreams we had of learning to weave a medieval tapestry, or the idea for that perfect adventure game -- and let those ideas come out and play. Play hard.

​
For me, what places like TORn embody is how we take what is a passion for us - the story - and letting that passion inform our lives. We embraced that passion and we started on a path, a journey... just like Bilbo. TORn is, in a sense, a celebration of journeys... of what may yet be... of who we may yet meet... of knowledge and experiences we my yet gain... of people who we may yet become. TORn looks static but it isn't. It's dynamic. It the running stream. We aren't passive observers of a movie, or readers of a book... we are active members of a large fellowship...supporting each other, laughing with each other, learning with each other, traveling with each other.

So, the day Bilbo set out seems like a nice melding of the story, the world and the Man (JRRT) we love so much... and of our place in that world. Our adventures. Our journeys.

PS: If you haven't read Tehanu's Twenty-Second Note, or read it recently, please do. It made me cry when I read it the first time and it has remained in my bookmarks ever since. It seemed as if she was talking straight to me and knowing that there were hundreds if not thousands of people who would identify with those thoughts made it all the more powerful. Sometimes I think we become a bit blasé about our love of Tolkien. For me, at the core of it, it is a story that speaks to my inner soul. I once said that Tolkien made me want to be a better person. I think many of you feel the same way and I don't want to lose touch with that.
 
And I can't compete with her fantastic post, so I'll just say, "Ditto for me." And put me down on your list of volunteers! Just point me in the right direction. [:)]
 
that TORn was founded. It's the beginning and a perfect date to express our gratitude (and jest) to our founders. THANKS GUYS!

And Thanks to you, weaver. It's great to have someone formalize a date to gather and celebrate not just our Founders, but ultimately each other as well.

*warm hug*
 
just because I like dancing under the stars :-) But unfortunately we've just passed it, so it would be a long time until it came round again. I also really like Feb 17 and April 10. Those dates appeal to me because they're directly related to TORn. Whenever it ends up being, I'm very much looking forward to it!
 
...at 10:00 pm one Christmas Eve, already getting up to see what Santa had brought us. [laugh]

(I think I was all of three!)
 
because I am thankful to him for writing the story. Although it really doesn't matter to me that much, I think it's a great idea and whenever we do it is fine with me.
 
and I gather that was the original thought, what better day than the founding of TORn. We could call it Founders' Day.
We already do celebrations for the birthdays, so I think giving thanks would sort of get lost in the hoopla and the Gaffer's Home Brew. (Although, GHB should be a part of Founders' Day as well!) Plus, April is about half a year away from September, and we need a party at that time too!

We could have a PTB look-alike contest. We could play TORn trivia. We could tell jokes about the First Agers. Oh, think of it! [;)]

*chants* Founders' Day! Founders' Day! Founders' Day!
 
I just spent a hour looking for this and it wasn't even posted yet. I'd only been to Pollantir once and boy did I have fun checking it all out. Found some great threads to save. The best though, were all the threads I searched with your name and then, did I ever find some riches. You are a marvel. I've even shed a few tears this afternoon.
I missed some wonderful stuff - well, you do, don't you, if you aren't on the boards all the time. This place is so busy and so wonderful!

Now, back to the point of this poll. Thanks for this idea, Weaver. I know the time has come, so more power to you - to us.
Let's make it happen.
All the best.
hob
 
I was firstly taken with the idea of Tolkien's birthday being the date. But then I thought I probably just like it because it is the day after mine. The Prof's birthday indeed deserves a celebration in its own right, as I think Magpie mentioned.

The founding date of TORn seems like quite a good one.
The more I thought about it, the more indecisive I became, so in the end I voted for the old "great idea, any date'll do" choice.
 
I also vote for September 22. That is the date I start to read TH and FOTR and I've been doing it, every year, for over thirty two years.
 
three simple things we all need to live. Tolkien made these things into symbols and messages of hope. Throughout his work, air, light, and water are the subtle forces that encourage and guide the inhabitants of Middle-earth who are paying attention.
It's nice to look out at the rain and think of it as more than annoying wetness. It's much better to see it as Tolkien wanted us to see it: as a sign of life and regeneration. The awareness of beauty and meaning in simple things is one of the great gifts Tolkien gave us to carry around in the everyday world.And so I walk out to the creek and listen with pleasure to it's great roar."

Tehanu- Secret Messengers-More people's Guide to J.R.R. Tolkien p36.

Just wanted to tell you how much i took to heart with what you said by giving you the quote above. Just most beautifully and sweetly said magpie dear. [[[[HUG]]]].

That does it. I want to change my vote. Somebody give me an eraser, please:).
 
Sort of like matching your pets?
21.gif

*don't hit me* *ducks*
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top