This is my half-century year.
Oddly enough, I'm not really all that worried about it.
50 is the new 30.
Not really.
But it's really okay.
Generous margin. Quality over quantity when it comes to food and drink. Close relationships with the people I care about. These are the things which really matter. 50 is just old enough to finally figure that out.
Stories are also more important to me at this point in life. Family stories. Family-lore. As I think about the next fifty years (with modern medicine being what it is, I intend to live until my eleventy-first birthday, at which time I will depart for the next adventure most unexpectedly), the things that matter — the things that will live on well after I'm gone — are the stories we tell. The life we pass along to the next generation.
I love graveyards, and I can't help but wonder how much has been lost over the years every time I wonder among the tombs. What are the stories that have ceased to be told?
Helping the story continue is really the purpose of this website.
Speaking of "Long-Expected Parties" ...
Be sure you are following @JRRTolkien on Twitter. This coming Monday there will be a most interesting announcement.
For The Friday Folklore roundup this week, I've found some fascinating articles related to folklore from the three major countries of North America.
Slightly Bizarre But Compelling Mexican Folklore Photos
This series of photographs from Mexico are truly fascinating, if not a little disturbing. This is reported in "The Sun" — so make sure your ad block is on. I was not able to locate this photographer's home online, so if anyone knows, please leave a comment. I'd rather give him the link than "The Sun". Nevertheless, these photos are truly fascinating — and bizarre. We will explore Mexican folklore in more depth at some point — but in the meantime look through these images.
And be sure to do so with the lights on.
Meanwhile in Toronto ...
As baseball season kicks into gear in North America, I was watching a couple of videos of the Cub's winning the World Series last year (talk about sports-lore), and came across this well written article about sports-lore in Toronto. The Toronto Olympics in 1976 were the first games I remember watching with interest. This piece from CBC is an interesting read.
Food Glorious Food
And finally — let's talk nation-defining regional snack foods in the USA. The Thrillist published an incredibly interesting piece on this subject, and the section about hushpuppies is worth the read by itself. Grab a soft pretzel from Philly or maybe a "wickles pickle" in 'Bama and check out the story behind the snack. This is a great read.
More to come. Stay tuned. In the meantime, you have you signed up to receive the folkloristic Troll Report? For free?
Enjoy your weekend! May it be magical.
“The Resurrection was the greatest ‘eucatastrophe’ possible in the greatest Fairy Story — and produces that essential emotion: Christian joy which produces tears because it is qualitatively so like sorrow, because it comes from those places where Joy and Sorrow are at one, reconciled, as selfishness and altruism are lost in Love.”
