The Hobbit- Chapter Three: A Short Rest, Entry 3

They stayed long in that good house, fourteen days at least, and they found it hard to leave. Bilbo would gladly have stopped there for ever and ever- even supposing a wish would have taken him right back to his hobbit-hole without trouble.

The chapter entitled “A Short Rest” finds our hobbit and dwarves refreshed after two weeks of Elrond’s hospitality in the Last Homely House. “Now they rode away amid songs of farewell and good speed, with their hearts ready for more adventure, and with a knowledge of the road they must follow over the Misty Mountains to the land beyond.”

As for me, Thailand serves so well as my Last Homely House. Visiting that nation is a welcome break from the everyday push and shove, the stares, and the fight for correct change in New Delhi. Just as Bilbo would have been happy to remain with Elves for roommates, I would be sorely tempted to vacation in Thailand forever! Polite people, fresh fruit, ice cream popsicles, but sadly, such bliss is not my daily reality. I must return to my adventure.

The Hobbit- Chapter Three: A Short Rest, Entry 2

Now it is a strange thing, but things that are good to have and days that are good to spend are soon told about and not much to listen to; while things that are uncomfortable, palpitating, and even gruesome may make a good tale and take a deal of telling, anyway.

I have great affection for the way Tolkien explains this, and although I really should take the time to look up some statistics, I won’t. Instead I shall employ my cynicism to state this unfounded accusation: Tolkien’s statement must be true, if only by the fact that horror movies exist! Add in evening T.V.’s daily drivel of bad news after bad news. And that grabs our attention, does it not?

I confess that much of my day-to-day existence living in India falls into that first category--things that are not much to listen to and are soon told about.

The Hobbit- Chapter Three: A Short Rest, Entry 1

We now find our hobbit hero at the edge of the wild, marching into the shadows of the mountains. Bilbo asks if they have reached THE mountain, but his inquiry is met by a blunt and terse reply; “of course not!”

“O!” said Bilbo, and just at that moment he felt more tired than he ever remembered feeling before. He was thinking once again of his comfortable chair before the fire in his favorite sitting-room in his hobbit-hole, and of the kettle singing. Not for the last time!

You know those moments in life when you’ve reached the absolute limit of your capacity to think, when you feel so tired, when you say to yourself, “I’ve got to sleep before I can even begin thinking about that.” Those moments may suggest that there is no light at the end of the tunnel, but the adventure always moves forward despite our feelings.