On Life
(12:30 A.M. 28 December 2002)

I am lucky because I was able to watch "Tolkien: Master of Middle-earth". I have read his biography but seeing a documentary of his life and some of his greatest works (The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Silmarillion) in action and full color can beat what i imagined then.

It was nice knowing that he really lived a life. He was a human being, not just a literary icon. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien-- the writer, poet, linguist, son, husband, father, role model and inspiration to millions. I know now that it was the "simple life" he had that gave him the ingenuity in inventing and making up a fantasy, fiction in a land called Middle-earth.

I know now that we are all given that chance in life and like the Professor (Tolkien), it is up to us to see the world as a blessing, an inspiration, or maybe a curse.

I am only one of the millions who are fascinated with what the Professor has created. He wrote "The Hobbit" before my parents were even born. He died before I was born. But still, he has touched many lives, including mine. We have our own ways of showing our appreciation. Some may form societies with their own types of individuals-- scholars, linguists, writers, poets, even hippies who form cults and yes, even common folks like me.

On January 3, he will celebrate his 111st birthday. Though I cannot afford to go to his grave in England or able to sing Elvish songs for him, I hope that in my own way, I have shown how grateful I am that he lived.