March 25 is Tolkien Reading Day...

I've lived in Arizona all my life, with a few odd trips here and there. This past weekend, my California friends celebrated Tolkien Reading Day. They gathered together and read passages from various Tolkien works. The Hobbit was the main focus, of course, what with the release of the DVD, last Friday.

This was the third year I missed.

For eight years, I went to L.A. once or twice a year, only for a weekend. I stayed with a couple of dear friends. Most of our activities were Lord of the Rings related. We talked. We laughed. I relaxed.

The first few years, there were no trips to the ocean. I didn't want to go. My memories of the ocean were of the northern California coast where the waves crashed so loud I couldn't hear myself think. I wanted to turn down the volume. It drove me crazy I couldn't make it stop.

Finally, one of my dearest friends talked me into eating at the Belmont Brewery, right there on Belmont Beach. We walked in the sand afterward, listening to the soft whoosh, whoosh of the tide. I was enchanted. Every time I visited thereafter, it was arranged for me to spend at least a little time at Belmont Beach, walking in the sand. I discovered the pleasure of walking close enough to the ocean for the tide to wash over my feet.

I've missed my friends in L.A., and I've missed walking along the beach. I've also missed the Reading Day event. There were two passages I particularly enjoyed sharing, the crossing of the ford and the destruction of the Ring. I was honored to be asked to do the latter several years in a row.

I miss the laughter. I miss the friendship, the camaraderie, the sense of belonging. I miss the sense of peace that always encompassed me.

Now, whenever I see L.A. on some television show, like NCIS Los Angeles, the first thought to race through my mind is "When are you going home?" I can't explain it. I only know that every time I fly there, there might as well be a giant magnetic force. As we fly over the mountains into the Los Angeles Valley, my heart sings, "Home. We're home."