Day 32: Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens

I know, the title for today’s update is weird given this is a Hobbit inspired blog, but bear with me. Day 32 was dragging ridiculously and I had absolutely no motivation to keep going. So instead of throwing in the towel and doing nothing for this day, I decided to motivate myself. So I bought some new music to help me out the door. Enter the title for today’s update. I am currently on a 1950s rock ‘n roll kick and bought two CDs of Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens to give me the kick out the door. It was exactly what I needed, and now I must learn the correct pronunciation to La Bamba so I won’t hopelessly massacre it when I decide to sing along.

Over the course of Day 31 and 32 I have walked 13.03 miles (20.9 km). It seems an almost constant battle against my knees at this point. At the age of nine I was diagnosed with arthritis and have to go through just about every day of my life battling the pain of it. While walking actually helps a lot of the pain, it still makes my knees sore and after the five mile mark they start making their discomfort known. Day 32 was particularly hard, I was very glad of new music to help take my mind off of my pain.

For the hobbits and Aragorn, Weathertop is rapidly approaching. As they draw closer, crumbled ruins atop one of the taller hills can be seen. The day dawns early and brilliantly clear for the hobbits, an occurrence I wish would happen more often for me.

By now the hobbits are getting used to the amount of walking they are doing on their reduced diet. Pippin and Frodo comment on Frodo’s thinning figure, the latter hobbit joking about becoming a wraith if he kept losing weight. For me, I wish I lost weight as easily as Frodo did. But alas, I have rotten luck. So far I have only managed to lose five pounds and 8 inches in a month.

It is very intriguing for me seeing that this is the point in which the hobbits start becoming used to their journey (and of course my parallel experience is one of discomfort). They have already gone far and encountered much in their brief journey from the Shire. Frodo wished for an adventure, and he is certainly getting one, but is it quite the adventure he envisioned? Peril, as always, lies both ahead and behind. Their journey is far from over, but for now they are beginning to come into their own.

The Road Goes Ever On and On,
~ Daisy Buttons