Conversion

My mother, long the opponent of any kind of movie monsters or gore, has taken her first step towards becoming a born-again "Lord of the Rings" fan.

Last night, I "happened" to turn on the Weathertop scene from "The Fellowship of the Ring", being broadcast on one of the cable channels. My mom and I had just watched the end of "The Apprentice" and there was nothing else on. I said, "just watch this scene with me, and then I gotta get home."

So we watched that scene, and the next. She began asking questions about who each character was, and their relationships to the others. She was trying to keep the names straight. I explained some of the key themes throughout the story, and filled in what backstory I could on each character and people group.

We watched the last 2/3 of the movie. She even lasted through the battle in the woods at the end. Remember, this was the woman who would turn away in disgust at any image of nasty creatures on the commercials, shaking her head and saying, "I can't believe you'd like something gross like that."

This same woman watched most of "Fellowship." I never thought I'd see the day.

I'm going to give her space to let her process it, and I think she'll come to me when she's ready to see more.

I'm hoping she'll soon see the light, and become a full-fledged fan.

(Side-note: My dad came home from work during the final battle. He's a hard-line opponent of anything fantasy or alien-like in TV/movies, and has being merciless in his mocking of the trilogy. He walked in the door, took in the sight of mom and I watching "Fellowship", and turned to me saying, "I can't believe this--you're turning my wife into a geek!" I laughed. "That's the plan," said I, wringing my hands sinisterly.)