Fairy Rings: Memories From My Childhood

I remember the first time we found a fairy ring in our woods. My siblings and I, being the children of a farmer, knew better than to tramp through the back fields on our own. There were no restrictions, however, to the pinewoods that crept up alongside our gravel driveway and curled around the calf hutches near the field nearest our neighbors. We would often go exploring, as if the sparse tree cover was enough to create a Narnia in our minds. Near the old crabapple tree we discovered it; the lop-sided circle of mushrooms carved into the pine needles was a novelty for everyone. According to our mother, a fairy circle is a special place where the little people come to dance in the middle of the night. When no one was looking, I knelt within the ring and prayed a secret prayer, hoping that it was real. 

Though I would never admit it openly to my younger brothers and sisters, I believed that our small scrap of pines was far wilder than it let on. Having roamed the countryside since we could toddle, we were quite aware of the common wildlife that called our woods “home.” One had only to wander through with open ears to know that it was alive. Birds called to each other in a chorus of voices. My favorite was the cardinal’s “what-cheer, what-cheer, what-cheer, wheet, wheet, wheet,” or the chickadee’s “chick-a-dee-dee-dee.” Squirrels chattered and scolded each other in the patchy sunlight, occasionally kamikaze-jumping  to the opposite tree, causing branches to snap and creak under their weight.

One of my favorite pastimes, besides exploring the woods, was tree climbing. My father once instructed us on the best kinds of trees to climb; low-lying pine limbs were preferable to the slim branches of the maples.  I loved to scramble up a tree’s sappy branches to reach a bird’s nest, though I learned from an early age that mother birds do not appreciate children stealing their eggs. Perhaps their beady eyes had spied the same broken eggshells that I found near the firewood pile, thinking that I was culprit. What use had I for birds’ eggs? The fairy folk were guilty in my mind.

There was one particular summer that I crafted houses for my secret friends. Prickly branches and twigs along with damp, musty-smelling bark were molded into huts, leaning against the aging oaks on the edge of our woods. Pine-scented needles, soft and green all year long, were made into bedding, while acorns became cups and soup bowls. A bright blue jay’s tail feather served as a flag. My brothers and sisters never believed me that the crude structures were fairy homes.  I’m not even sure if the fairies ever appreciated my hard work because I never saw them. I knew that they were there, though. Fairy rings are a sure sign of them. 

Hobbit Day, Saints, and A New Adventure!

Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins in "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Adventure"

hobbit |ˈhäbit|nouna member of an imaginary race similar to humans, of small size and with hairy feet, in stories by J. R. R. Tolkien.ORIGIN 1937: invented by Tolkien in his book The Hobbit, and said by him to mean[hole-dweller.]I identify very much with hobbits. Physically, I could be mistaken for one with my honey-brown, curly hair, round cheeks, bright eyes, and rather short stature. We enjoy many of the same pastimes, such as eating, gardening, having a pint of good ale, and smoking (actually, I don't smoke, but I do like the smell of pipes). We're both quiet folk who don't care to be pushed out of our comfort zones, who prefer the country to city life, and who like nothing more than to live simply without any uncomfortable adventures. And, just like Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, I often find myself in the midst of adventures without really planning on doing so. I thought of the two Misters Baggins yesterday, as it was not only their birthday but also the 75th anniversary of the publication of "The Hobbit." I thought of how these two memorable characters have brought joy and inspiration to many people, thanks to Professor Tolkien. I thought of my own current adventures and wondered if Frodo or Bilbo ever had conversations with God similar to my own:"God, I told you that I'd decided that I'm never going to do THAT. It would be too scary and uncomfortable. Why are you making me do THAT?!""My child, don't you trust Me?""....""Well?""Uh..., of course I trust You, God. But this is... really scary. It's not going the way that I wanted!"Yeah. Pretty pathetic, I know, but this has been my attitude about many things in my life. I'm reminded of the quote: "If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans." Well, that was the first mistake I made in the area of dating. As a precocious twelve-year-old, I gave God my list of qualities that I wanted in a future husband. As a naive high-schooler, I altered the list, planned out my future dating life and asked what was taking so long. Now, as a slightly disillusioned college student, I thank God that He has guarded my heart for so long and taken me on several other adventures prior to this one: just last weekend, I officially became a girlfriend...and I'm still freaking out! But God is good, nonetheless. He takes all of my "freaking out" in stride.I've pretty much decided that God uses reverse psychology. I tell him I'd rather not do something a certain way, and He marks it on His "To Do" list. Ok, perhaps that's a little snarky, but I'm pretty sure that St. Teresa of Ávila felt the same ways sometimes. She had quite a quirky relationship with the Creator of the Universe. One of my favorite stories of her tells of how she fell off her donkey, looked up to heaven, and said, "If this is the way that You treat Your friends, I'm not surprised that You don't have very many!" Dang, talk about gutsy! Or think of Padre Pio, whose feast we celebrate today: after begging God to take away the visible stigmata and allowing him to continue receiving the pain, God gives him even more supernatural gifts in addition to the stigmata! I could go on and on, not just with other saints, but with examples from my own life. My point, though,  is this: God likes to push us a little. Sometimes he only knocks on the door of our hearts, as Gandalf the Wizard knocked on the round, red door of Bilbo's hobbit-hole. Other times, he forcibly pushes us out onto the road, via circumstances, and before we know it, we're in the middle of an adventure. Why does God do this? Isn't it enough that we struggle with concupiscence, with human frailty, with fear? Why does He feel the need to ask us to do hard things? Because He wants us to be SAINTS! Teresa of Ávila, Padre Pio, Rose of Lima, Miguel Pro, Pope John Paul II, Gregory the Great, Angela of Foligno, Kateri Tekakwitha, Joseph the Worker, Clare and Francis of Assisi... the list goes on. Did these people suffer as we do? Yes. Did they struggle with their faith at times? Yes. Did they sometimes doubt that they would reach the end of their adventures intact? Yes. And yet, these people are all held up by the Church as examples of extreme holiness. God pushed them all a little bit (some more than others). He sent His Spirit to speak to their hearts, asking "are you willing to do My will?" And their replies were, "Yes, Lord." With God's grace, I hope that I may one day reach half their level of piety... but until then, I'll continue on my adventure of life and pray.P.S. In honor of yesterday's celebration of Hobbit Day (which I missed due to illness), I end with Bilbo's poem for your enjoyment:

The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with weary feet,

Until it joins some larger way,

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.

Summer Movies Satisfy My Cravings!

I have a confession to make: I am a MOVIE JUNKIE! Yeah, I'm one of THOSE PEOPLE: 

• the annoying people in the movie theater who've already seen the film twice before and comment the WHOLE time
• the people who correct you when you try to make witty comments about the latest film ("The Hobbit is NOT the sequel to The Lord of the Rings!")
• the people who go to the midnight premier even though they have to get up early the next morning... and then proceed to go again the next day
• the people who quote various movies ALL the time and don't have the courtesy to explain the reference
• need I go on?

Not surprisingly, the latest summertime flicks did nothing to discourage my addiction - in fact they probably mase it worse! This summer had a particularly impressive list of movies, especially superhero movies! I've commented briefly on each one that I've seen for those who don't mind *Spoiler Warnings*!

To start things off, The Avengers was probably one of THE BEST movie theater experiences since The Lord of the Rings (which is why I went to see it more than once!). I am a huge Marvel fan, and even though I didn't care for Thor all that much and didn't see all of The Hulk, The Avengers was a breath of fresh air for me! I was so concerned that they had hyped up this giant movie project so much that it would be disappointing. Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised. There was witty humor (thanks to Ironman), exciting action, a good blend of characters, an interesting villain, implied romance, and a tragic death *sniff*. I was very, very impressed and hope that they don't make a stupid sequel just to rake in more money. In fact, what I'd like to see first is a film about Black Widow and Hawkeye's relationship... there was definitely something going on! Besides, they're the only two main characters who don't have their own movie yet!

As a huge fan of the Sam Raimi's Spiderman films (except for the third one, of course *shudder*), I was looking forward to a new take on Spiderman, though I didn't expect to be "wowed." And I wasn't, at least not completely. I appreciated the fact that MJ was absent and replaced by Gwen (hurray for goody-two-shoes!). I felt that Andrew Garfield's performance was definitely more emotional and angsty, though there were times when the angst reminded me too much of Peter Parker's "dark side" in the third film! Finally, the Lizard really freaked me out! I didn't expect him to be creepy - I mean, the Goblin is supposed to be Spiderman's #1 Bad Guy, right? - but I actually jumped several times! The techie/computer guys did a good job.

I had been looking forward to the final Batman movie since I made myself watch the second one for the first time. Here's another confession: I have an irrational fear of clowns, and I just didn't think that I could handle the Joker. Thankfully, I faced my fear and experienced one of the greatest movie experiences of all time. However, I had no idea what to expect from The Dark Knight Rises. I'm not a comic geek, so I wasn't very familiar with the storyline (though a good friend did give me a spoiler - thanks M!). I could probably write an entire blog post on this movie, which I may do in the future, but for now I'll say this: Batman was a complete jerk to Alfred, Officer Blake was my favorite, Anne Hathaway did a fairly good job as Catwoman, and the entire time I KNEW that Miranda/Talia was no good! Oh, and I actually felt bad for Bane at the end (despite all of the previous neck-snapping!).

Besides the superhero flicks, I had greatly anticipated Pixar's latest film... and was sadly disappointed. My little sister enjoyed it more than me, probably because I had much greater expectations. She loved the pretty horse, the little girl who shot arrows at bears, and the fairy glowy lights. I cringed at the cliched feministic approach to a girl's coming of age story, reveled in the lush animation and Celtic soundtrack, and cried at the end because I wanted there to be more of... something, especially to the story! Just as Cars 2 failed to meet my expectations, Brave (which was originally titled The Bear and the Bow - who the heck wanted to change that title?!) wasn't quite as inspiring as it could have been. Still, it was enjoyable, just not the same sort of Pixar experience that I have come to expect. Though, I must say that Merida's hair was the best I've ever seen on an animated character!




Finally, I saw The Bourne Legacy - not because I enjoyed the other three movies (I've actually only seen one of them.) but because I had been so impressed by Jeremy Renner's performance in The Avengers. And once again, his character was very engaging. He brought a lot of energy to the movie, which was definitely necessary for an action film. The ending was very abrupt, the script was difficult to follow at times, a chase scene went way too long in my opinion, but other than that it was a fun spy flick. Oh, I must also comment on one scene in particular: due to recent events this summer involving various shootings around the country, a scene in which a group of people are locked in a room and shot down by a colleague was much more chilling than it would have been otherwise. Perhaps, out of sensitivity to the still-grieving families in Colorado and Wisconsin, that scene should have been cut or at least shortened for audiences. Just a thought.




So, why am I such a junkie? Why do I love movies so much to the point that I'm a little compulsive? I, just like all people, love stories, plain and simple. Our lives are stories, stories that intertwine and cross with the stories of others. Some stories are a bit more exciting (The Bourne Legacy), some are more complex (The Dark Knight Rises), some are just fun (The Avengers), and some are tragic (For Greater Glory, see first above poster). The point is that movies may not be factual, but they do mirror something of reality, something we recognize in our own lives... and I think that is what people find appealing and applicable in films. Films are just another medium in storytelling - a more colorful and exciting medium than say radio - but a form of storytelling, nonetheless. The best part about movies is when the stories teach us something or give us a chance to think about something deeper than the special effects or script. Movies have accomplished their purpose when one leaves the movie theater... thinking.

*Note: The film that I mentioned (the first movie poster) but didn't expound upon, For Greater Glory, was the ONE movie that I wanted to see this summer but didn't. Sad day. There wasn't a large release, unfortunately, but hopefully, I'll have a chance to see it once it comes out on video!