Welcome
By Peeg

Greetings True Believers,

It is our combined love for Tolkien and his creation that brings us together. This love of everything Middle-earth bonds us in ways that non-believers find strange and somewhat silly. But unlike fans of other popular phenomenon, the true Tolkien vision is a fanaticism that transcends the shy embarrassment that surrounds fans of comics or Star Trek or Star Wars. We are geeks, yes, but geeks with a deep affection for something nobler than super heroes in tights or deep space battles. The Tolkien I love is the sad, tragic mythology of a race that is fading, fading as the leaves turn from brilliant green to solemn golden.

 

Our love of Tolkien’s Middle-earth is manifested for us in the Plaza.  It is our home, our Lothlorien, our Minas Tirith.  It is our fading realm. Just as it fell to the small among Middle-earth’s people, so it falls to the small among us.  With each month the memory of the films fades from memory and the burst of membership we enjoyed has faded with them.  We will always have our stalwart members, our true believers, but as the memory of Jackson’s popular interpretation fades, so does the opportunity for those who love Tolkien to find us here in the vast world of the internet.  No, the Plaza is not dying, but it is at risk of fading.

 

So here is our quest, our Fellowship: Bring new Believers to us. Each of us has the opportunity to bring new Believers and Dreamers to the fold.  I know that many of us have done this, and I’m sure we all have friends out there who must be tired of hearing about this “Plaza”, but as many as there are who have tried to convert our friends, there are many who have not.

 

If you attend a Con, like Megacon or some other convention where fellow geeks congregate, bring something to leave behind.  Flyers to drop on the community table, even if it’s just handwritten. If there are any who wish to have something to print up, please feel free to email us at plazadmns@yahoo.com or admins@lotrplaza.com and we will send you something appropriate.  At the risk of sounding like a cheap salesman and pushing the shops, there are t-shirts, cards and buttons that can be purchased.  If anyone is interested in purchasing these in quantities larger than 1 or 2, let us know and we’ll try to get you a discount.

 

Anyway, that’s enough soap-boxing from me. Go out there and do what you do! Make the Plaza the lively, vibrant place it has been for over 4 years!

Keep the Dream Alive!