*sigh*
Exactly my sentiments. Since summer 2001 I have been in anxious anticipation of each movie. March 2002 was a real down month because TTT left the screens and December was still nine months away. Funny ... I'm a grown 46-year old man with three children and a great career ... and my life has been defined by LOTR.
When I saw FOTR the third time, it was a weekday matinee after Christmas. I was alone and I noticed another guy who was alone. Alone? Grown men watching FOTR alone at 11 AM on Wednesday? I asked him how many times -- he guiltily held up three fingers. I asked him why he was alone -- his girlfriend felt that once was enough. Then I asked him if LOTR was his absolutely favorite book as a teenager, and he assured me YES. I then told him that I carried images from that book in my head constantly, and Peter Jackson's movie had finally brought them to life.