Watching movies on a plane usually does not work for me. I fall asleep or just give up from boredom.
But Asiana flight 222 from Incheon to New York takes a long time. Long time. I decided to give it a try.
I went with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. I had seen it at Christmas with Tricia and Eric. I knew the plot, more or less, and I will buy a copy when it comes out on DVD. If I fell asleep, little would be lost.
It worked. I watched the whole movie. Some of the special effects and scenery were a bit lost on the small airplane seat screen, but it held my attention. I enjoyed it.
A snippet of dialogue from a scene where Gandalf urges Bilbo to journey with Thorin Oakenshield and the others on their adventure to the Lonely Mountain stood out for me:
Bilbo: Can you promise that I will come back?
Gandalf: No. And if you do , you’ll not be the same.
That is the way of adventures in fiction and in the real world. Whatever else happens, we are changed. The change may be obvious. We may have to ponder long and discern carefully the change. But change there is.
I have had adventures in the Republic of Korea. I have, in the words of Tolkien, gone there and back again.
I have new knowledge. I have made new friends. I am not the same. Of course I am still processing the knowledge and I need to discern what other changes there may be. Interesting days lie ahead.
See you along the Trail.
Along the Graybeard Trail 