Homeward Bound

The last two weeks here in London have gone very quickly. Claire and I have both been fighting off colds, and quite busy helping out here at the A Rocha center. We've done a variety of work and had a great time talking with the rest of the staff.

We are looking forward to coming home. Getting back to work, re-starting our somewhat revised lives in Kirkland, and being settled down again.

This past Sunday we did some sightseeing, out to Oxford. It's a beautiful town with a very historical University, but really the main reason we went is that I (Torrey) am a dedicated J.R.R. Tolkien fan. Oxford was where he lived, taught, and worked most of his life. We explored the town a little, and saw some of the special places where Tolkien lived and worked. One place in particular was the 'Eagle and Child' pub, commonly known as the 'Bird and Baby'. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and the rest of the group who called themselves 'The Inklings' would often gather there for a few pints and discuss literature and philosophy. They would read to each other from their own works in progress for comments and critical review.

So with that experience fresh in mind, and since we're heading home tomorrow, here's a fitting poem. This is from the end of Tolkien's 'The Hobbit', as Bilbo Baggins is heading home after his adventure. (I've changed a couple of the lines to fit our own experience - we didn't fight any dragons!)

Roads go ever ever on,
Over rock and under tree,
By caves where never sun has shone,
By streams that never find the sea.

Over snow by winter sown,
and along ancient city walls,
Over grass and over stone,
And under changing leaves of fall.

Roads go ever ever on,
Under cloud and under star,
Yet feet that wandering have gone
Turn at last to home afar.

Eyes that sun-baked fields have seen
And wondered at the halls of stone
Look at last on meadows green
And trees and hills they long have known.