..

[Gareth]

...

[R.D.Metcalf]

I disagree with you on a very minor point. LOTR does not begin to replace or compete with either the history or the Germanic heroic poetry which Tolkien based it upon.

Why am I here? Because I *LOVE* the heroic ideals of our ancestors, I *LOVE* the poems such as Waldere, Beowulf, The Wanderer, as well as the Sagas. I LOVE the history, the mode of dress, the lifestyle and codes of that brutal time on which Tolkien based his writings: at once defiant and sad, cheerfully fatalistic, unyeilding even in the knowledge fate can sweep ones life away in a twinkling.

Poetry,beauty, passion and the swagger one can sense rising off the page even from a long dead cheiftain and his thegns who stayed true till death. I'm here because although this literature may seem dark to some...But in it falls the "doom of choice"....Fate is bleak, unfair, hard and cold, you *CAN* however choose to face it as a hero!

I'm here because when everyone else says you cant. You can look to an Eomer, an Aragorn, A Beowulf....and lets not forget Waldere fighting single handedly against an army in that snowy pass....They will tell you...you *CAN*!

a man inspired of such conviction is never bound, he cannot be bought, he cannot be defeated for even in death his inspiration lives on to swell the hearts of others, indeed my friends, this is powerful literature.
It is the bane of tyrants, and the boon of free men. It is passionate, violent, beautiful and better than any weapon....Weapons can stop the heart but more dangerous and wonderful still is that which can light a heroic spark within a heart!


Wes Hal!

[Gareth]

...

[Peter Remling]

I guess it's my turn, well for a number of reasons, basically
1) how people lived
2) how did they do that
3) self reliance
4) independence
5) love of blades and early weaponry when personal artistry prevailed over technological artistry
6) closer interaction with nature
7) spiritualism
by living apart one can better observe how we should live together
9) the outdated idea that there is evil, it is tangible and it can be combated
10) a love for a good story, the telling and the living
11) the personal interpetations not allowable in other groups

I'm sure I'll think of others but most will fall under these umbrellas

[Willrett]

Well I agree with a lot of the points already made. Very well spoken fellas.

I have always loved the middle ages, type time period. I have always loved swords, knives, dragons, ect... I read nothing but fantasy from Goodkind to Martin to Salvatore.

I started shooting trad, and decided to go medieval with it. I seen the ranger sword on a site and just started searching ranger stuff. I found Andy's site and was so amazed with what I seen on the site I read it three times before I even looked at the links. Once I found this site it was all over

That's it I guess.

[Eledhwen]

I've been into Wilderness survival, medieval reenactment, history and a host of other things for...well, longer than a lot of folk have been around. Being Ranger was something I did even in the earliest days of the SCA....for that short while some did that.

I've reread Tolkien's books several times every year since 1970, adding newer publications to the list as they came along. I adore Middle Earth, and everything about it.

Found Andy's site, then this forum..and decided to stick around with like minded folk.

Simple.

Siani

[Mirimaran]

Well, first off I love Tolkien, and the Rangers have always fascinated me. Tolkien was such a skilled writer that with just a few lines, he could entrance you with his stories, and the more he didn't tell you made you want to know all the more. Tolkien, as a writer, will make you fall in love with writing, language, poetry, characters that we meet only for a few pages, and others that we know for the whole journey there and back again. So, with this love of Tolkien, back in 2004 I looked around the web and the only Rangering group I could find was a group that did some reenactment and I think was associate with The One Ring. So, I set up Rangers of the North on Yahoogroups, and we are still there today. We have some very good friends on that group (and some are here as well) but we don't have near the volume of traffic, and certainly not the level of discussion seen here. So, I had first found Andy's site, asked him to join our group, and then later found this group. I really enjoy meeting others who like to make things as well, usable believable items that serve a purpose and might be what a Ranger would have with him out there in the Wild. And it is always nice to make new friends

[caedmon]

I'm curious. Why are the people that have registered and posted here, here?

>> Admin de-lurking <<
Mostly to run the place, really.
>> Admin re-lurking <<


Just kidding.

I come out of a 'serious' reennactment background. First with buckskinning and then small group medieval. The problem is that no real world groups are a good analog to my interests. Buckskinning has trekking and the primitve skills I love, but a time period that I could take or leave. I love the medieval period, but faithful reenactment is very hard to do right in North America*.

LOTR/Ranger reenactment is a great middle ground. It starts with a very well formed, real 'feeling' world. It is wilderness focused and based on a nomadic culture. It allows me to let my hair down and not worry so much about the minutia/correctness of the material culture. It is also a great way to do alternative scouting with my boys. Finally, why I'm here is that Andy's portrayal inspired me and made me see that there are a lot of others out there who, like me, are interested in the same set of things.

-Jack

* for a lot of reasons that are to tedious to go into right now, suffice it to say I'm overly critical (other than me, who cares if their cote is stitched with linen thread an a maximum 3mm stitch length, or that a camping portrayal is completely wrong for 98% of medieval life?)

[Eledhwen]

I'll add this bit; I've done buckskinning and RevWar...the anally retentive ends of both and if you are after exacting accuracy they are Good Things. Unless you are female and not content to be some flower watching the action. Real world Rangers fit here very well. (Some groups aren't as restrictive as others I should note.)

The SCA allows women to do as they wish, but it is recreation and not reenactment, although people within it definitely reenact. Mostly it is a giant costume party covering a huge span of time..fitting since it started as a costume party and then a protest parade against the 20th century. It is many things to many of the individuals within it..but it is not in and of itself reenactment. Tolkien Rangers fit here tolerably well.

Here is something in between..allowing for personal creativity and yet also very exacting historic detail as well...a happy blend in my opinion, for me a better fit than either of the above.

That would be a large part of why I am here.

All my opinion, of course.

Siani

[Greg]

As a child, my father and my grandfather instilled in me a love for the outdoors, and everything in it. Hunting, Fishing, Camping...all of these were enjoyed, but were done in respectful ways that preserved the outdoors far more than they took from it.

As a wee one of about seven, I was fascinated by robin hood courtesy of a disney interpretation and a suction-tipped bow from toys 'r' us. By nine, I was shooting target tips out of a compound I got at the local Big 5.

I read the Hobbit at age 12, and The Lord of the Rings at the age of fourteen for the first time, and fell in love with it. I read the latter because I knew the movies were coming and wanted to know how it was supposed to be before my mind was clouded with an interpretation. I fell in love with the books, especially their use of Archery and Swordplay.

Now, I've combined all of those loves into one, solid way to enjoy them all, and get away from the city in process. I'm an artist, so I am able to express myself in my own ways through how I look, and I can pressure myself to be at my best physically and mentally with my skills, because there's no magic involved in what we do. I'm in this because I love the mystery and legend that surrounds the Rangers, and because I feel like it's where I would belong. If I lived in the Medieval era, I would be a forester of some kind. If I were in Middle earth, I'd be a Ranger. Thankfully, I get to go there quite often, so I am.

[dwayne davis]

I have to agree with gregg, in that my dad got me into hunting ( with the bow) as well as a love of the wilderness and all things in nature. i have al ways loved the mideval period ( also think robin hood rocks) i have always had a love of swords and all things sharp and pointy. so the first time i ever saw the rankin-bass cartooos as well as a breif exposure to D&D , and the hobbit. ( yeah i am a nerd) i was hooked on the rangers as well as middle earth in general. also a love of Beowulf also has played in as well.

If it were possible to go to this place we all love so well i would in a heartbeat, even if it meant no return to the world in which we live. like others i stumbled accross Andy's site and looked at his portrayal - that was it, it all just clicked for me.
so.......who brought the alternat dimension machein????

[Greg]

I have to agree with gregg, in that my dad got me into hunting ( with the bow) as well as a love of the wilderness and all things in nature. i have al ways loved the mideval period ( also think robin hood rocks) i have always had a love of swords and all things sharp and pointy. so the first time i ever saw the rankin-bass cartooos as well as a breif exposure to D&D , and the hobbit. ( yeah i am a nerd) i was hooked on the rangers as well as middle earth in general. also a love of Beowulf also has played in as well.

W007 for the childhood obsession! You were lucky in that your dad got you into archery. I kinda had to get into it on my own, as my dad and Grandpa hunted with guns.

I've found myself more in-tune with the outdoors than I ever was before since I started rangering, to be honest. I loved everything about it before, and I fully appreciated getting away from the city, but I look at the wild through a different set of glasses now. I'm looking for tracks, I'm seeing wildlife I'd never notice before, and I'm hearing things that I never would have heard before either. I have incredibly sensitive ears (which is part of why I'm a musician/recording engineer) but they're more attentive now than they ever were before. As a ranger, all of these things are important, but I never expected to get myself "involved" like this. I thought I'd just use the tools at my disposal, and that'd be it. But I've found that I have an insatiable drive to improve these skills. I find myself walking silently down my halls and across the street. It follows me everywhere; it's quite exciting.

Like most of you, I have Andy and his website to thank for getting me into this. He portrayed exactly what I wanted to be involved in. He made Middle Earth real for all of us, I think, and I'll never be able to thank him enough. In the meantime, while I'm trying to come up with a way, I suppose I should drive out to Colorado some weekend along with Cedric and spend a few days in the backwoods with the guys. He's not too far out...maybe it's high time this forum's Men of the West got together.