Tolkien recounting his pleasure at hearing how his words had an effect on Americans "Many young Americans are involved in the stories in a way that I am not. But the do use this sometimes as a means against some abomination. There was one campus - I forget which - where the council of the University pulled down a very pleasant little grove of trees to make way for what they called a 'culture center' out of some sort of concrete blocks. The students were outraged. They wrote ANOTHER BIT OF MORDOR on it." There have been many times during the last 34 years since I first read this, that I have thought those same thoughts, it seems that the longer I live the more MORDOR I see around me. I have moved away from the big cities and out into the rolling hills of the country to escape the MORDOR of my time. But I feel a weight inside me to have seen so many great forests, parks, fields and meadows be torn away and replaced by a concrete jungle. Maybe I am the only one that sees the world like this now, but it was not always this way. And I appreciate Tolkien for awakening my heart and opening my eyes to what is right and wrong about his world and mine.

Nice post TragicKingdom [interesting name too].

I like cities for the culture and history, for example, and some have some absolutely stunning architecture [although for me, I'm not a huge fan of modern building design] and beautiful green spaces or gardens, but in general I would not want to live in a city -- at least in a big one -- and if in a 'small' one, or what I would call small anyway, I would want to be near natural spaces.

I consider myself blessed to live surrounded by trees. Many people have remarked that some of my towering trees are 'too close' to my house, but we cannot cut any down until they have certainly died, which so far has only happened to one near, massive oak. 

I know Tolkien has inspired me in this arena, as well as others. I have an 'Ent' who stands near my house too -- actually the remains of a tree that reminds me of an ent, but sometimes he looks...

... different