I learnt me something today, which is pretty rare for a geezer Cajun.
It seems, in the early 60’s, my great uncle, Edward R. Murreaoux, famed journalist, conducted an interview with literary great, J. R. R. Tolkien, about his Lord of the Rings trilogy. Because of the startling revelations, that Tolkien mentioned, during this interview, the BBC immediately quashed it. I only happened across this information, when I was going through Uncle Eddie’s things, after his estate sent me his personal effects.
What caused the consternation amongst the British media, was Tolkien stating that the LotR story was based on Florida, rather than European geology, as some claim these days. The Brits could not let any notion that these great stories
J. R. R. Tolkien went with his family, on a tour of central Florida, at 8 years old, at the tail end of the 19th century. This trip, taken during his formative years, set the tone for his famed novels, which he wrote several decades later. The following notes of interest, were worth sharing, in my opinion:
When geezers in the trilogy “went west”, Tolkien was referring to how Florida geezers go to Venice, in graying hordes. The Shire, (and the Hobbits) were actually based on the scenic village of Taintsville, named such because, to quote the rather short, oft smelly, mostly portly, and always barefoot residents, “It tain’t Oviedo, and it tain’t Chuluota”.
Mirkwood was based on the Little Big Econ State Forest, and Mordor, obviously, was based on the city of Orlando, which Tolkien recalled as a lawless wasteland, bristling with evil. It goes without saying that the wringwraiths were based on real estate developers, and Sauron, a local politician.
Most surprising? The Two Towers story was originally titled The Two Bridges. Tolkien’s publisher flatly rejected that title, claiming that it wasn’t phallic enough, and ordered him to rewrite the book as two towers. Sigh… Tolkien argued vehemently, for the bridges, even offering a hand drawn map, showing the locations of the bridges that inspired the tale, however, the publisher stubbornly refused to budge. Thus, we have the story we all know, today.
Riffster and I studied the map Tolkien drew, eventually locating one of those two bridges. We hid a soda bottle preform, at the posted coordinates, which will hopefully help you locate an ammo can, nearby. These trails are used by mountain bike riders, so if you opt to hunt this on foot, please give the bikes the right of way.
This cache approved by the Florida Forestry Service, under permit # LE25-07
This area requires a $2 fee, to access. You can pay digitally, at the Snow Hill Trailhead.
Post Script: This cache hidden on August 24th, International Waffle Day, because waffles are awesome!