Shame. That's where life is. Its how smart people talk to us.
Back in the day, when Miss Blu was knee high to a stegosaurus, the people would sit around the fire after a long day of hunting mastodons and avoiding saber tooth titers, and guess what.
They would tell STORIES. And those stories were mostly fiction, and at best historical fiction.
Fiction gives us our humanity. Without it, we would all be Spock.
I wrote that hastily when I saw that Nazgul was yet another Lord of the Rings reference. I didn’t actually mean I don’t do -any- fiction. There are degrees of fiction.
I used to have friends long ago, when I was in my 20s, who were really into Lord of the Rings, and would talk about it constantly. I picked up one of their books and read about 60 pages, and was bored to death. “Oh,” they said, “but it is really great! Here, read The Hobbit to get your feet wet.” I read the first 30 pages of that, and ditto. They tried to make me believe it was some fault of mine, so I tried yet again, and I thought my eyes would bleed. I feel the same way about Star Trek, Star Wars, and anything science fiction or fantasy in general. They fail to resonate with me. I guess my brain isn’t wired for those, or something.
Historical fiction is something I find more palatable. But really, life is too short already, and there are so many more things I want to do and learn about, and find vastly more fulfilling, than to spend much time reading or watching fiction. Reality is so much more interesting to me, for example. Hence my presence here on these threads. We’ve been fed too much ‘fiction’ (i.e. lied to) already.
Practically every important lesson needed in life is in the LOTR.
That is correct, oh Bagarino. Many Many Many stories were passed down. First as legends, then as fables, and then some rules got tossed in there. Cos, you know, people couldn't read, seeing as how most of the world was agrarian. Then, BOOM! The Renaissance shows up, books are made and people believe what they believe.
Contrary to the Old Man in Fresno*, I was not around for that...had I been, some things would be different!
*Yes, that is a total slam on Bagster...just cos I can!