A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....01-07-03...Down The Hobbit Hole

dansangel; Billie

[dansangel]

A Few of FR's Finest.....
......Every Day

FR is a Treasure Trove of talented, compassionate, patriotic, wonderful people who gather every day to discuss the latest news and issues; salute and support our military and our leaders;  tell a few jokes;  learn a new word;  write poetry;  pray for those in need;  and congratulate those who are deserving. Thank you, Jim Robinson, for giving us the vehicle in which we can express ourselves.

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   I can remember lurking when there were only a few regulars who posted, and now there are over 60,000 who have registered for posting privileges. The forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest November 11, 2001

So many people have written me since my original Veteran's Day Tribute, asking how they, or a loved one, could be included in that tribute. Since I can no longer add the photos to the body of the thread, I've been including them in additional posts as I received enough to make another collage.

Still that doesn't seem to be enough. I think there's never been a better nor more appropriate time to keep the faces of our own Veterans and Active Military in front of FReepers--every day! That's why I wanted to do yet another Daily Thread .....ABOUT FReepers .....and FOR FReepers. But not only about our Military FReepers; for all FReepers! Wouldn't it be nice to get to know a few of the other FReepers as well? That's why, in addition to seeing FR's Finest Military Personnel every day, I thought it might be fun to feature a different FReeper (or FReepers) each day. If you would like to be pictured, or know someone who would, please FReepmail me and we'll turn the spotlight - on YOU - for the day!

And do let me know if you'd like your picture added to the groups of Veterans/Active Military below. I will keep this page updated, and continue to add them to the comment section of the original Veteran's Day thread as well.

<

TOP:  g'nad, AgThorn's son Justin, SLB, AgThorn's son Brett.
MIDDLE:  fish70, razorback-bert, CheneyChick,Leroy S Mort, Mark17.
BOTTOM:  Terry's Take, Taxman, DinkyDau.

TOP:  ValerieUSA's son Grant, SK1Thurman, kd5cts, RangerVetNam,
dansangel and .45man's son-in-law Tony
BOTTOM:  rangerX, Old China Hand, Trish, Howlin's dad, Mustang

TOP: ohioWfan's son, MamaBear's father-in-law, MamaBear's dad, ladtx
MIDDLE:  The Mayor's niece, M.Kehoe, Beach_Babe's son-in-law
BOTTOM:  deadhead's dad, HiJinx, Severa's hubby, viligantcitizen's granddad.

TOP:  spectr17, RightOnline, SERE_Doc, Tet68.
MIDDLE:  FutureSnakeEater, RightOnline's wife, CIApilot, Clamper1797
BOTTOM:  usmcobra, onedoug, DiverDave, Joe6-pack

We now have eleven groups of veterans/active military; we will post each group of three or four twice a week, with thumbnail/links of the remaining seven or eight groups on each thread. Click on any of the thumbnails below to see the group full-size.

         

GROUP 1A: TOP: Logos, SwedeGirl's hubby, Neil E Wright, FallGuy, 1John, Sneakypete MIDDLE:  T'wit, COB1, LadyX, Dick Bachert, 68-69TonkinGulfYatchClub BOTTOM:  YankeeinSC, Delta21, JoeSixPack1

GROUP 2A: TOP:  Bosniajmc, AFVetGal, Archy, A Navy Vet MIDDLE:  4TheFlag, Aeronaut, 68Grunt, Xinga BOTTOM:  Codger, AAABest, Clinton's A Liar, Duke809, dcwusmc

GROUP 3A: TOP:  mc5cents, Norb2569, LBGA's son, VanJenerette MIDDLE:  Jim Robinson, KJenerette, davidosborne, KG9Kid BOTTOM:  gwmoore, Equality7-2521, SAMWolf

GROUP 4A: TOP:  porgygirl, Phil V., MudPuppy, NorCoGOP MIDDLE:  RaceBannon, OneidaM, rdb3, jwTexian BOTTOM:  USMC Vet, TheMayor, Vineyard, rhododogma

      

GROUP 9A: TOP: Q6-God, Scan59, Mama Bear and JKPhoto's son, ofMagog. MIDDLE:  Big'ol_freeper, JustAmy's great uncle, Prodigal Son. BOTTOM:  JustAmy's husband, JustAmy's brother-in-law, JustAmy's brother.

GROUP 10A: TOP: dakine's wife, MeeknMing's dad, Auntbee's nephew, MilitiaMan7, AlasBabylon. BOTTOM:  Joe Brower, Temple Owl, Temple Owl's wife, dutchess' dad, Aomagrat.

GROUP 11A: TOP: ladtx #2 son; DiverDave's twin Don; petuniasevan and husband poorman; Mustard; ladtx #1 son. BOTTOM: AlamoGirl's brother Floyd; AG's dad; AG's brother Jim (inset); WVNan's husband; ladtx' Aunt Eva.

                     

"In a hole there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort."
From The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

HairOfTheDog Freeper since August 13, 2001

I was told I could find the elusive HairOfTheDog at the Hobbit Hole. Although I found it extremely distasteful (not to mention downright fatal to my hosiery) to crawl on my hands and knees, nothing is too good for my readership. (The bumps on my head are starting to disappear). After all, Inquisitional Minds Want To Know - What makes HairOfTheDog tick?

HairOfTheDog - The Exclusive Interview

dansangel: Let's cut right to the chase. Where did this Hobbit Hole come from?

HairOfTheDog: The origin of the Hobbit Hole was the thread New Zealander builds Hobbit hole, an article about a weird guy in New Zealand that built a hobbit hole, originally posted 1/27/02 by John Farson. I am sure John thought it would register a few posts and die out.

We got on a good conversation and it just kept going! We ended up over-indulging, fell asleep on the couch, and never went home!

Lord of the Rings

dansangel: What motivates you to want to permanently live in a place like this?

HairOfTheDog: We are an official daily thread now, but not in the traditional sense. We hate to start new threads, so we don't very often... We started the second Hobbit Hole thread The New Hobbit Hole only because we felt we needed to move to the General Interest forum to escape trolls after the Great Forum Split. Around that time, trolls were often spotted on the borders, and we knew eventually they would invade. Early on we asked John Robinson if there was a limit to thread length, and he said there was a functional limit, a little over 63,000 posts or something, if I recall. He didn't seem to mind our big thread when we asked, so we just kept going. We stayed on that thread for more than 48,000 posts... Like I said, the folk in the Hobbit Hole really hate to move. Some wanted to wait until the thread reached the limit just to see what would happen! I didn't want to know!

dansangel: When you, uh, little people overpopulated the original Hobbit Hole, what happened then?

HairOfTheDog: We started our newest thread a couple weeks ago, The Hobbit Hole III - Journey to the Cross-roads! to celebrate The Two Towers movie coming out, on the day of its release. Hopefully we will be in that hole a good long time. I don't look forward to trying to get them to move again any time soon!

dansangel: Just what was it that led to your involvement with these little peo-…er, I mean, "Hobbits?"

HairOfTheDog: I have no idea, but I am glad I did. ;~D. I was lucky enough to be around when it started, but we didn't know we were starting anything, and it isn't mine. When we had to move, someone had to post the thread, so I did. My position at the top of the thread is purely ceremonial. The thread continues because a lot of folk keep it up, and keep it interesting!

We don't have an official Hobbit Hole ping list, people just come around when they can. Many people have contributed to the thread over the past year... We have lost a few folk, some don't come around as much any more, but most of us who started out in that first thread are still around! - and wonderful new folk have found us.

dansangel: Isn't it a lot of (ugh) work to keep the Hobbit Hole up and running day after day?

HairOfTheDog: Keeping up the Hole every day are the regulars, and you know who you are. We always love visitors, the folk who stop in once in awhile on their way somewhere else, some more frequently than others. Somehow it works. I will call this an almost-complete list of all those folk, in case I have forgotten someone because my notes aren't in order:

2Jedismom; Alkhin; Argh; Bear in Rosebear; BibChr; Carton253; Corin Stormhands; DonnerT; Ecurbh; g'nad; ican'tbelieveit; ItsOurTimeNow; JameRetief; JenB; John Farson; ksen; Li'LFreeper; Long Cut; Lucius Cornelius Sulla; maquiladora; My back yard; NewCenturions; osagebowman; Overtaxed; Paul Atreides; Penny1; Pippin; rightwingreligiousfanatic; RMDUpree; Rocko; RosieCotton; Sam Cree; Samwise; Scott from the Left Coast; SuziQ; The Iguana; 300winmag

We are all planning to meet a year from now... January 2004, in Florida. I hope most of us can come. I look forward to it!



dansangel: Oh lovely. I can just picture it now. A gathering of the "little People." How fun. < /sarcasm >

HairOfTheDog: The Hobbit Hole is a gathering place for nicest folk on Free Republic.

dansangel: Oh that place again!

HairOfTheDog: We have come to know one another over the past year, and are very real friends. I love every one of the regulars there, and most of the occasional visitors! It is wonderful, because we are all quite different, live all over the country, and yet we share a love for Tolkien, conservatism, and now, each other. Sounds really mushy but its true! We discuss Lord of the Rings in the Hobbit Hole of course, but we also discuss current events, goof off, seek advice, vent, grieve, share our lives and stories, cheer each other up, and entertain each other. We never fight. We almost did once, but we got distracted and forgot about it.

dansangel: How cute. On another note, what would make a reasonably intelligent woman such as yourself get involved with a bunch of right-wing whackos like those on Free Republic?

HairOfTheDog: My brother Ramius is a poster there. He introduced me to it! He was always talking about Free Republic, and I lurked for a total of maybe 15 minutes before I had to chime in with my opinion about something or another, and I was hooked.

dansangel: Well, yes, "opinionated" will get your foot in the door there for sure. What else do you do that counts as right-wing political activism?

HairOfTheDog: I suppose just hanging out on Free Republic 24/7 doesn't count? Hmmmm! I haven't done a lot of "on my feet" politics. I vote certainly, and I support president Bush any way I can.

dansangel: Yes, hopelessly brainwashed by the right-wing fanatics. Anything else?

HairOfTheDog: I am big on second amendment issues, my personal mission being to take as many gun-fearing liberals for a day at the range as I can. That is my style. I understand their fears, but I want them to understand me. I have never taken anyone shooting who still felt the desire to take my gun away at the end of a good day shooting and talking about it. I don't call them names, I show them that they don't need to fear me. I am a single woman. If I wasn't armed, I don't know how I could sleep at night.

HairOfTheDog on the range

dansangel: Well, you could try a big dog. Speaking of which, do you have any pets?

HairOfTheDog: I spend a lot of time outdoors when it isn't raining, and I love to explore woods and trails with my horse. I belong to Back Country Horsemen, an organization who lobbies for continued access to public lands, educates riders on trail riding etiquette and safety, and volunteers time and sweat to help build and maintain trails for the public to use.

HairOfTheDog's favorite view - from her horse!

dansangel: A regular public servant! Any other interests?

HairOfTheDog: I went to school to be a pilot, and became rated to fly commercially as a Certified Flight Instructor, but didn't stay in it. There is more money to be made in almost any other job than flight instructing in rainy Western Washington. It is a hard business to break into, and I eventually gave it up. Many of my friends went to Alaska and made it there, flying bush. Maybe it is just as well I didn't stay in it. My best friend from college, who made it to the airlines, is on furlough now. Her plane was the one that hit the second tower on her day off.

HairOfTheDog as a pilot 10 years ago

dansangel: I'm truly very sorry for that. Anything else that you would care to share with the readers of the National Inquisition?

HairOfTheDog: That is about it, really! I am not an extraordinarily political animal compared to some... I am philosophically conservative, thought to be radically right wing by my more liberal friends, and occasionally accused of being a pinko by the far right here! So that probably puts me at about a 7.5 on a scale of 10. I like to read the news, and know what is happening. I support classically conservative values, and I enter debate as long as it stays nice. I am not a fan of the flame war, at least when I am in it. I don't like to be ranted at by anyone, ever, on my free time. I can't stand rudeness, and I cringe at coarse language. I will go find more polite conversation in the Hobbit Hole, thank you!

dansangel: So there you have it, my Inquisitional brothers and sisters. The inside and exclusive scoop on HairOfTheDog.

Please join me in welcoming another of FR's Finest...

HairOfTheDog!

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 01-06-03 Arkansas Hog Wild FReeper!

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' The guy's good, folks!

Thanks, Mixer!

1) Click on the graphic to open the Calendar.
2) Once there you can click on any month and even click to the right to go into next year. Once you are in the month that you joined FR you will need to click on the number in the calendar and then an add item screen will come up.
3) In the next box enter your name in the "Calendar Text" field and then click on submit.
4) If any of the screens fail to load simply click on refresh in your browser and that will usually fix it.
5) If all else fails or simply if you want me to do this for you send me an FReepmail and I will gladly do it for you. ~Mixer

[dansangel]

[dansangel]

Welcome one and all! Please let me know by FReepmail if you would like to be added to or removed from the Finest's ping list.

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Angel.

[dansangel]

A special welcome to the regulars of "The Hobbit Hole." Please feel free to come join us in spotlighting HairOfTheDog!

[dansangel]

Long time no see!

Good morning to you and I hope it's a great day for you!

{{{{{{{{{{{Aeronaut}}}}}}}}}}}}

(I'm still trying to wake up enough to get ready for w-o-r-k ugh! LOL!!)

[HairOfTheDog]

Good Morning Dansangel!

It is two o'clock in the morning here, but when I woke up (dog #2 had to pee) and saw it was time for you to post your thread, I had to come and take a look!

The thread is beautiful, and I am so honored! Thank you for pinging the regulars! - They will come around when they pull themselves out of bed several hours from now perhaps!

Thank you for staying awake through such a dreadfully dull topic such as myself!

Well, #2 dog is all done now and may give me a few hours more peace until I really have to stay up! See you in a few hours!

[JameRetief]

Congratulations Hair!

Of course, those of us who frequent the Hobbit Hole always knew you were one of the finest. :-)

Keep up the great work!

[Budge]

Congratulations, HOTD!

Wish I could stick around and visit, but I'm already late for work.

Enjoy your day!

[Overtaxed]

*Yawn* What's for breakfast?

[JameRetief]

The regulars of the Hobbit Hole (HH) are aware of my postings of the "Daily Tolkien" and "Tolkien Virgin" articles, but for those who do not frequent the HH, I extend an invitation to you as well.

As a special addition to my daily thread (The Daily Tolkien) which are essays and articles about various aspects of Tolkien's work, the "Tolkien Virgin" articles follow a first time reader through the "Chronological History" of Middle Earth.

If you would like to read along, either as a Tolkien Virgin yourself or just to read the books again, now would be a great time to do so. We are still at the beginning of The Silmarillion and will eventually journey through The Hobbit and finally The Lord Of The Rings. I have paced the articles to finish in less than a year to coincide with the release of the final Lord Of The Rings movie.

If you have read the books before but do not feel like reading along, you can still feel free to comment. Like the Hobbit Hole, all are welcome in the "Daily Tolkien" threads. My only request is that everyone remain civil and (relatively) on-topic about the current article.

To quickly catch up with the "Tolkien Virgin" articles (linked below) you have only to read the corresponding pages from The Silmarillion:

1) The Ainulindalë

2) Valaquenta

3) Of Aule and Yavanna

[Overtaxed]

'Scuse me. I'm yawning because it's early in the morning. :) Great thread bump!

[Corin Stormhands]

Thanks dansangel! Great thread.

I hope RMD has cooked enough for everyone...

[Rocko]

Do not get a swelled head.

[Penny1]

Congratulations, Hair! And thank you for always making our Hobbit-Hole a welcoming, comfortable place to spend the day!

You're the best! :)

[sweetliberty]

Good morning Hair and Congratulations on being one of FR's finest! And don't let dnasangel bother you. She's all steam. Hehehe.... I see it's too early even for Meeky so I guess I'll have to put the coffee on. Gotta get ready for work. Enjoy your day. I know you will.

[nicmarlo]

Congratualtions, hairofthedog, for being one of FR's Finest!

Good morning, dansdevil! : )

[dansangel]

Good Morning to you, HOTD! Glad Dog #2 had to wake you (LOL!) so that you could get a glance at the thread.

I'm so happy you like it....now, quit saying stuff about how I had to stay awake....I thoroughly ***enjoyed*** doing this!

I'll pop in from time to time myself as this is a w-o-r-k- (ugh!) day for me!

{{{{{{{{{{{{HOTD}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

[dansangel]

*Yawn* What's for breakfast?

Hmmmm....I'm hoping that GailA will come by with some coffee and bisquits for us. ***Hint-Hint*** :-)

I'm at w-o-r-k- (ugh!) so I'm not much help in the food department!

{{{{{{{{Overtaxed}}}}}}}}}}}

[dansangel]

Thank-you for coming by. It's great to meet you!

I love meeting new people on the Finest! Make yourself at home and hopefully some food will arrive shortly. :-)

{{{{{{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}}}}}}

[sweetliberty]