This is my 800th post and I'm feeling my sense of internet civic duty surge. So I've decided to answer some of the questions Google users have come to my website in search of answers for.
Why did Frodo take the boat? (Number 3)
To get to the other side.
No, seriously: in The Lord of the Rings, the elves are quietly heading "into the west", across the sea into the mythical land of youth. This item is straight from Celtic legend which always saw their spirits depart westward to Tirnanog. For the elves, this is a happy time, because they are passing over to heaven, but it's also a bittersweet time because, basically, this is a metaphor for death. The elves are leaving Middle Earth for good, giving over their territory to the kingdoms of men.
In The Lord of the Rings, the elves extend an invitation to Gandalf, Bilbo Baggins and Frodo. Gandalf goes because he's not human (he's a Mayar, an equivalent to Sauron), and the time of magic has passed. It's likely that at least some of his wizards' guild went before him. Note that when Wormtongue kills Saruman in the books, Saruman's spirit leaves his body as cloud of smoke and looks longingly west. However, a strong west wind starts to blow, dispersing the smoke, showing that Saruman has lost his place in heaven.
Bilbo and Frodo likely go west because both have been in close contact with the ring of power. Frodo in particular is not living a happy life, both as a result of the lingering physical and psychological injuries of his quest, but also because he's grown too big for the small world of the Shire. Some heroes don't get to come home, even when they actually do come home. So Frodo and Bilbo go into the west.
Is A Wrinkle in Time Christian? (Number 1)
Absolutely! Don't let the presence of a Happy Medium scare you. After all, the witch in The Lion and the Witch and the Wardrobe doesn't make C.S. Lewis' work anti-Christian, does it?
I Haven't Seen This Much Traffic Since Warren Kinsella Said Nice Things About Me
So far this day, 400 hits on my website, 56 in the last hour, most of them Google searchers looking for Victoria Day fireworks festivities in Toronto. They're all heading to this page. Weird, that. I've written an update that I hope will help them.
In answer to that question, the City of Toronto is having a fireworks festival at Ashbridge's Bay near Lakeshore and Coxwell, tonight at 9:45 p.m.
Assuming, of course, it's not rained out. Yesterday was the second straight tornado warning. And it looks like Mitchell, Ontario was hit by an F2 on Saturday.