As I’ve played LOTRO over the last couple of years (years! :0 !) I’ve found several quests, instances and just day to day encounters that have reminded me of real life adventures I’ve had in my work or travels. Stories that make you say, was that real?

I’ve shared a few of these in the Landroval coffee house from time to time, but I’ve always thought there must be many others who’ve had similar adventures! So, this page presents the first of the Real life adventures of Slamfist, and sends out an invite to others to post their adventures. In particular, I’d love to hear about your adventures that could have been a LOTRO encounter! Honestly, I think the beauty and life-likeness of many of the vistas and encounters is what continues to keep me playing. So, in the spirit of Bilbo’s adventures and story telling, and without further ado, the first RL Adventure of Slamfist.

This happened about 20 years ago, when my (then) girl were taking a nice midnight stroll, out on the moonlit paths in the woods around Whistler.  We had gone up with a group of 15 friends and rented a cabin out in one of the lesser developed areas and just wanted to get away from the group for a bit.  The walk was along gravel roads in the woods with other cabins every few 100 meters or so, basically it was dark with no one else about and no street lights in the dark woods.  But the moonlight was glistening off the banks of snow, it was cold and crisp, you could see your breath. We were walking and chatting, just coming around a corner down a little grade into a depression, with the road climbing out and up a hill on the opposite side.  A lone wolf crested the hill in front of us.

The wolf was silhouetted against the moon and the backlit starry sky.  It was beautiful, framed by the snow and the trees. At first we thought it was a dog, a very large dog, but then, it threw it’s head back and let out the longest scariest howl I have ever heard. Then he looked straight at us, and charged…

I pushed my lady behind me and tensed every muscle in my body, as the wolf raced down the hill towards us - I could see the glow of it’s eyes, it appeared black and monstrous, it growled as it ran, I can still see the bared teeth.  It charged closer, paws thudding in the snowpack, and my girl, standing behind me, grasped my arms, and let out a little breath of fear.  I pulled my arms free and threw my hands up to protect my throat - there wasn’t time for anything else - the wolf was almost on us.  Adrenaline coursed through my body - we were going to be attacked.

30 feet, 20 feet, 10 feet away, adrenaline and fear like electricity coursed through my body - I tensed and braced myself.  My hands curved into claws and I bared my teeth as I prepared to meet it’s charging leap. My eyes met his - not taking me without a fight - and I let out an an animalistic roar … and the wolf stopped dead in it’s charge.

We stared each other eye to eye, the wolf suddenly not as sure, but growling and staring, looking for a sign of weakness.  I whispered to back up, slowly, ever so slowly, no sudden movements, (don’t run, whatever you do, don’t run)… we slowly, slowly moved backwards down the road. I continued to pin the wolf where it stood with my stare, not daring to break eye contact, until finally we made it around the corner… We then moved a bit more quickly to the first cabin we could find, and banged on the door but no one was there. It was locked and black.  We ventured back onto the road, but the wolf had not followed us around the bend in the road.  We gathered our bearings and made it back to the cabin…

/wolf howl… most chilling sound ever… true story…

Now let’s hear some of your real life adventures.

Happy New Year!  Okay, I did it.  Stayed up with the kids.  Best wishes to all for a fabulous year in 2009. 

Now I’m going to bed.

Slammy.

Heh, watched Kung Fu Panda with the family last night (one of the kids received the DVD for Christmas of course).  I don’t know about you, but I love Dreamworks, Pixar, etc. - these animated flicks are amongst my favorites. 

One of the best parts of the movie was the bits of “wisdom” thrown in throughout the flick.  I’ll refrain from some of the key ones, just in case anyone hasn’t seen the movie yet, but some could truly stop and make you think.  Of course, the title of today’s post is one of those funny but true moments that we come across in life. We either miss the magic in our lives, or we’re in too much of a hurry to get there.

Another Po/Shifu moment begins with the quote… “we do not wash our pits in the Pool of Sacred Tears”.  Funny but true.  What is sacred to one may not be sacred to another.  We each can have our beliefs, and I most certainly do.  But we all won’t hold the same things sacred.  Your pool of sacred tears may look just like a pool to me, but out of respect to you, Shifu, I can agree to not wash my pits there! And in no way does that compromise my beliefs. Profound, isn’t it.

One thing I’ve noticed in this LOTRO community. While there was a great number of those who hurried through to get to the “endgame” (I don’t know, I suppose so they could “finish” the game and stop paying monthly fees?), and yet a great many who have not hurried through (holds up hand) and have enjoyed the journey, the art, the people and the many events and treasures scattered through the online lands of Middle Earth.  This has been my philosophy in playing this game.  I’m in no hurry - I still have some of Vol 1, Book 2 to finish off - and a quest wallet full of greyed out quests.  I’m making progress, but my goal isn’t to level as fast as possible, it’s to enjoy the view on the way there.  Others have different goals, which is fine.  What makes this a great community is the high levels of respect for each other as we progress.

Next, I think the kids want to watch “Wall-E”.  I wonder what other bits of wisdom I’ll find there. 

Cheers folks.

So here I sit, Christmas evening, the kids are in bed, the wife has just gone upstairs, and the grandfolks are likewise snuggly tucked away.  And instead of heading off to bed myself, what do I do?  Well, how about a quick check of the coffee thread in the Landroval forum, and on my way, I pass Patience’s “my.lotro.com” beta announcement once again.  I’m not a blogger, but I’m intrigued, and figure I’ll take a quick look. 

So here I sit and think of today’s events (both today, and those 2000 odd years ago), I find myself thankful for so many things in my life. Not just the stuff (although there was a flurry of that today) - from an amazing Christmas dinner with turkey and all the trimmings, to kids thoroughly spoiled by the grandparents, to a Guitar Hero for the Wii that I’m dying to give a whirl…  There’s a lot of “stuff” to be thankful for, but as I process, I find that’s near the bottom of the list. 

As I sit and type, I think of my vibrant church community - ah, now we’re talking, and my faith in a Lord and Saviour (enough said, wanting to respect the TOS).  A loving wife, and healthy children. Those are solid things.  Foundational things.  Things that root me and give me wings.  I am so thankful, this Christmas for these blessings.  I could go on, but I suspect I’d bore most of you, and tempt the TOS-Bat.  But I’m thankful for these things.

Friends are the next cornerstone and worthy of praise.  But in the last year and a half, I’ve found a number of friends that I never would have expected. You see, I’m of the brick and mortar crowd, not of the myspace, facebook, twitter generation.  I like to write letters by hand. I like to visit with a bottle of wine or a loaf of fresh baked bread rather than sending IM’s. But I found friends online within LOTRO. Members of my kinship on Silverlode.  Members of the order of the Leaf and Bean and patrons of the Landroval coffee house.  Online friends!  Friends that have suffered loss, experienced joy, fallen away, and returned. My brother in law, just tonight, was saying how today’s younger generation has lost touch with society, by losing that human, physical element (very Wall-E ish).  But I find I have to disagree.  I greatly value my “real life” friends, the people who I meet and greet daily, the people who mean so much.  But I find that this online community of LOTRO too has a ”real life” element to it.  These are real people, with real cares, concerns, feelings.  They get insulted, they get angry, they get happy, they get excited.  They are you and me. 

So here I sit, and I am profoundly thankful for the experience that LOTRO has been, for the new friends it has brought me and for being a real part of my life this last year and a half.  As we look forward to 2009 - may I wish each of you a very Happy New Year, and more exciting adventures in Middle Earth.