Sword

Maybe it was the NyQuil.  Maybe the fever.  Whatever it was, it sparked a new focus and symbolism for my life. 
It was a month or so ago when I had a terrible flu.  Head pounding, eyes burning, sinus erupting flu.  I felt awful. 
The worst part was I had committed to house/dog sit for some dear friends.  We got there Friday afternoon and by Saturday mid-day,  I was just worthless.  So, I did what any red-blooded American male does on a weekend when sick:  I watched cable. 
As I flicked up and down on a cable system with which I was totally unfamiliar, I landed on the umpteenth replaying of The Lord of The Rings on TBS.  I love LOTR.   Its a great movie, with great characters and all.  And, of course, as a dying man in a recliner, how could I pass it up? 
But something about this particular viewing of LOTR really got to me.  It wasn't anymore about a cool adventure with interesting creatures and the classic battle of good vs. evil.  During this viewing the true analogy of God's redemptive plan for the universe became clear.  The fact that man, among the most fickle of the creatures, had a hand in the fall and redemption of of middle earth.  The fact that creation was a part of the drama.  And that fact that evil was displayed so well all hit me very hard. 
I determined that, ala John Eldridge, I too would become a warrior.  I would engage in the Great Adventure against evil and have to rely on those who were perhaps considered insignificant by many.  I would do my part to keep this fragile hope alive not because there is anything in it for me, but because I simply cannot do nothing. 
What I needed was a symbol.  Maybe a LOTR poster?  They were inexpensive and featured all the characters. 
But a friend of mine suggested something better:  a sword.  Ah...yes!  What every warrior needs! 
I looked on the web and was attracted to Anduril, the sword of Aragorn (the guy played by Viggo Mortenson).  Now Anduril was made from the shards of Narsdil, the sword that Aragorn's faither Elendil, used to fight Sauron.  Elendil was killed and the sword shattered but Isildur, Elenddi's son, took the hilt of the sword and used it to cut the One Ring from the hand of Sauron.  So, bottom line, this is a sword with some juice.
Oh sure, everyone thought I had become a total fantasy geek as I became more interested in LOTR.  The wife thought for sure this was the beginning of some crazy mid-life crisis where I start attending renaissance fairs and start asking her to dress like a wench. 
No, this was about LOTR and the story - not about medieval martial arts and weaponry.  Weaponry, however, as always been a latent interest of mine.  I do own a set of Philippino Arnis fighting sticks, an official marine K-Bar combat knife, a US Army machete, and a couple of other cool weapons. 
When I was a pre-teen I had to accompany my parents as they shopped for antiques when we lived back east.  Most of these trips were just frustrating as a kid.  But in one shop in central New Jersey I found a cool thing:  a real medieval style shield.  I have been carrying it around with me for many years. 
I stripped the paint off the shield, buffed it out, and painted it black with a white tree, the symbol of Gondor, one of the human Kingdom's of LOTR middle-earth.
I am pretty excited about these new symbols in my life.  I look forward to having grand-children and telling them the significance of the sword and shield and introduce them to Lord of the Rings.

I'll load a picture of my sword and shield soon.