The Hobbit was NOT Originally in Middle-earth : The Hobbit #2

We examine if The Hobbit was originally set in Middle-earth, and how Bilbo's Tookishness is starting to take over.

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
Before the rings of power, there were the
sum is
before Sauron,
there was his master Morgoth.
Before Aragorn and Darwin, there was Baron and
Mu.
Join us as we explore tolkien and only
the ages of middle Earth with your hosts
from the 1 ring dot com,
Jonathan Watson at michael G.

(00:24):
Well, what a week?
That we missed
From the podcast. We're sorry everybody, Life got
in the way and Michael and I just
couldn't find the moment to get together and
go over the first chapter of this podcast,
of the book. Oh, sorry. The first... The
second... Boy. Am I gonna get this right?
Is it... Episode 2. Jeff. Thank you. There
we go. See. This is why I need
Michael. This is why I'd never do anything

(00:44):
without him anymore.
Not true. You... I love your I love
your short your short videos that you do.
Oh, thank you. Yes. I know. I need
to get... It's been it's been a crazy
busy week him And so I haven't been
able to do as much as we wanted
do, but we did find time to get
together and discuss the first chapter
of the hobbit.
Very. And we're not... Yeah. We're not gonna
get through the whole thing. I think we're

(01:05):
gonna stop guys. We're gonna end at the
point when, Frodo dives back into his hobbit
hole
and says his last good morning to Gandalf.
Because there's there's a lot to talk about.
And there's a lot of interesting things, and
there's a different perspective in this
story
than there is in doing the si early.
And what we'll get into that in a

(01:25):
minute.
Yep. Offer for all of you, folks that
are really impatient.
We are gonna take our time with this.
I've been looking forward to this for a
while. I I love the hobbit.
Just started reread it to my kids. I
do it on a cycle,
lower the rings than the hobbit and because
of the the ridiculous number of children I
have, that ends up being a 3 year

(01:46):
or 4 year cycle and then I start
over, So my but this will be my
final cycle because my youngest is,
just about turn 7.
So she is getting to hear the hobbit
for the first time and then. Or rings
after that, and, who knows by that time
the next 4 years comes out. I might
have grandchildren, but we'll see. Whoa. It... I
got... I got oh my daughter

(02:06):
Got engaged. So that's... Oh,
congratulations. Wow. And and the ready gosh 1
or 2 more engagements in the next 12
months. See. Yeah. And for those of you
just listening in, Michael Michael has 9 children.
Yeah. Alright. He'd write him. But, yeah, that's
a lot. We'll You know what? You're you're
doubling me up, which is kinda crazy. A
elon of musk has no criticism for me.
That's right. That's right.

(02:28):
And so...
So as we jump into this, we will
have an extended podcast, which you can get,
of course, by going to the 1 dot
com slash member, we're gonna talk about a
couple questions from, Mandy and Billy
from our discord chat. So if you wanna,
join our full discord chat. Go to the
1 dot com slash member It's 4 dollars
a month first month free. Or you can
go to the laundry dot com slash

(02:50):
patreon.
I believe I just go to 1 dot
com slash member and click on the Patreon
link that'll work. I don't remember these things.
And you can become member there for 5
dollars a month and the first week is
free because of limitations of Patreon and how
much money they take. So, join us there.
You'll get our extended podcast. We're gonna talk
a little bit of, also about what's in
this interesting book, the annotated hobbit right there.
Nice.

(03:11):
And some of the notes in there because
it's kind of like,
it's telling Michael, it's kind like the the
study bible for the hobbit.
And so if you're going through this with
a slowly,
It's probably something good to have, and so
I'll provide some links below on Amazon. I
got mine on ebay for 9 bucks. That's
a pretty good deal.
For a hard cover.

(03:31):
And it brings in and so that it's
gonna bring in connected passages and other letters
from Tolkien and Yeah. And things that things
that he wrote that that that connect. And
and how how the changes from the 19
37 to the 19 66 edition are... Q
and where they are. And so it's it's
an interesting read. So if you're reading through
it slowly, I recommend it. I read the
whole chapter of the hobbit without q reading

(03:54):
anything else, and then I went through this
annotated habit, and I also have my history
of a hobbit book that I'm looking at.
So if you wanna get those details, which
we're gonna talk about in our extended podcast
to the learning ring dot com slash member
become member end every week.
As long as life doesn't get in the
way. But every week is our is our
goal guys. We will have an extend addition
of the hobbit. Go to that you'll be
able to listen to. And,
you can become part of our our discord

(04:16):
chat if you go to, click the free
loader link below for discord and you can
get invited to the
smaller We love we love our free letters
we try. We do.
You love. More.
So you can end bottom. That is what
you're saying.
For
I can be bought. That's right. So just
in case it wasn't clear, we are gonna

(04:37):
be owing primarily through the 19 66 version
of the hobbit. Yeah. We we will we
will
refer to the 19 37 occasionally and other...
And the re the the... Abort of rewrite
that happened Yeah. As well. But 19 6
6 is the primary.
That leaves us with a lot of unique
cabo fact switch, I'm gonna try and start

(04:58):
every episode with an interesting hobbit fact that
you might not know.
If you're reading through this for this time
and the kind of detail that we're gonna
be reading through it.
I'm gonna that these. Are you? I don't
know. We'll see. Okay. So here's the first
hobbit fact that I've got for you this
this time around.
Originally,
Thor name, do you know what Thor name

(05:19):
originally was? In first name heard it? Heard
it once, but can't remember.
No. You've heard it many times. Thor original
name was Gandalf. Gandalf oh. Right. Right. Right.
Gandalf original name.
Was... So blood
BLAD0RTHIN.
I'm sorry if I'm pronouncing that wrong with
people, but Bla Blood,

(05:41):
1 of those 2... I've heard Lad.
So... Yeah. Okay. That's... Yeah. That was my
first guess. Alright. And and then Sma original
name,
was p.
And so we have these, like, these are
just the original things and they're very much
out of the,
prose
edd
the sn Sn, Sn Sn of I 1

(06:03):
epic. Yeah. Century,
Epic where all these names came from originally,
And so Gandalf was a du name that
Tolkien nun took and decided Blood was not
a great name for a a wizard.
And changed it. Same thing with Sma so
interesting. Like, these names did change, Probably a
good choice, but maybe that's just because we're
so used to it. I don't know.
I don't know. I I have no opinion

(06:25):
on that because as you mentioned, I've been
marinating
in the the work the names a bit
alert for...
Literally, almost my whole life for 40 years.
And so Yeah.
I don't have a... I don't have an
objective opinion Yeah.
Comfort might dictate our reaction to these names,
and we would've have thought maybe blood, of
course, his name is blood.

(06:45):
It's gotta be. It's gotta be. Alright. Alright,
guys. Have to get into the hobbit.
By the way, does your version start with
the a front page on the rooms, the
d rooms?
Boy, Which version are you talking about? Whatever
the main version you're reading nothing else. I
mean, it's?
The main version is right now is a
Kindle version that I have because I can't

(07:06):
get me anywhere that I go. So, yeah,
It has some of that in there. I
mean, this year here does have... We look,
does happen My main... Yeah. I know has
those, but so this is my main version,
but the first page is about the d
rooms.
And it and in the hobbit. So Was
just curious whether it has yours has that.
So... This is my favorite copy of bah

(07:26):
habit that I've read through once which is
the golden fiftieth edition universe. That's beautiful. That's
beautiful. And
it has... Let's see. Let's check it out.
Alright. Because those rooms are important. Boy, I
don't I don't see those.
Those ring... It's erin. It's office opposite the
first page of the an unexpected party.
Nope. Yeah. Has we got that?

(07:48):
There you go. Yep. Yeah. Little bit. Yep.
No.
Nice. Alright. Okay. Alright. So, guys. So,
chapter 1, Hobbit unexpected party. And
as we jump into this, I I... What's
interesting about the hobbit as opposed to our
read through of the summer that we started
on 2 years ago now was that

(08:10):
this was created
without
being a part of middle earth originally. Right?
As we saw talked in our last episode,
it was created
as a story for his children, really.
And it wasn't
it wasn't born out of the same desire
for that mythology for the the the word
smith that created

(08:31):
the the elves
and
the valar
and
lit.
And Gon. Right? All that sort of stuff.
This is this is much more... It was
a ferry story, not an epic. So he
he wanted to tell a ferry story for
children. As we learned in high stories, he
distinguishes and such stories can be written for
children or they could be written for adults.

(08:51):
But and and and maybe if they're written
for adults, they they they would
perhaps trend more towards that epic style that
you're talking about with... That he was already
developing from his time in the trenches and
maybe a little before. But
or a little after. Yeah. Yeah. And Yeah.
So this is... But this is definitely a
children's story.

(09:12):
Right. And what's what's what's interesting is as
we as we go into this and we
have our our our multiple scholar addendum to
this that we're looking at. 1 of the
things that became comes clear. In the 19
37 edition.
He uses words that bring it into the
modern day or make it into that fairy
story mindset into the children's story mindset where
he has things like things where we're we're

(09:32):
assimilate for a, like, a the w of
a steam engine I think or something along
those lines. Or he uses the word lil
effusion. Right? They were small, but not lil,
which, of course, Lil, is Go travels, and
those were the little people that held down
Delaware and
live there, or he even he even got
rid of the word elephant
in the 19 30 and 19 60 sixth
edition. Right? No more elephant. It's Oli now.

(09:54):
Right? Or completely excise.
And so
it's... It changed right... So so the interesting
thing about this book The same way that
the so early and changed over time, But
this 1 really changed where it was outside
of Middle Earth? And so if we were
to come to this and say, hey, let's
look at the hobbit from a. Where does
this sit in the the great cosmology of
Middle earth Well, even Tolkien didn't start it
that way. It didn't... He didn't start it

(10:15):
as, like, this is the great cosmology Middle
earth. And now here's the hobbit within that.
No. The hobbit was was actually
completely separate in the same way that Tom
Bam originally was completely separate
from Middle earth.
And so if you if you come commit
this from the whole like. Man, this is
amazing. This this this creates such depth to
to middle Earth and and the histories that

(10:35):
we have... No. It really doesn't. It's really
a totally different beast. Now we can look
at it and say, like, where we're where
we're where we're more inspiration and where did
things sort of get birthed
into
middle earth from the hobbit? That's a different
perspective. But to say how did Middle earth
completely influence the hobbit? I don't think is
is the best way to approach this?
Right. I...

(10:57):
We have
had gardens and
planted trees in most of the places we've
lived in my wife and I's life.
And there have been a couple instances where
we've planted
trees or
large bushes that have then grown intertwined, and
and 2 instances especially where it basically made

(11:18):
a large tree.
2 2 apple trees that sort of 20
together and then made a larger 1. And
this is
this is I... What the way I look
at the hobbit. The hobbit was a separate
tree that was grown for a different purpose.
It was a children's story. It was a
ferry story.
And then
at some point along the way he had

(11:38):
the idea of bringing them into it, making
them 1 tree. And it took work. He
had he had a... And in some ways,
he he actually, bob, as we'll cover
in his his board of rewrite, You know,
he he tried to combine them too much
and he just gave up on it. And
he said look. Yeah. You know. But but
he did have to rework the hobbit in
order to bring it in line with more

(11:59):
in line anyway, in the 19 66 version
with his lord the rings.
Epics that he had written.
Yeah. Yeah. So the way the way that
I'm going to approach this is say, like,
where
you know, where where did those inter 20
start to happen? Where did those those things
start to grow together,
particularly, even if you look at the original
manuscripts and we'll take a look at a

(12:21):
little bit of that.
It's completely... It's very different. Right? Names are
different. The the...
It feels even like target of where he's
going with the story a little bit different,
but we can we can talk about that
for the down the road. I think the
best place to start though, as we jump
into chapter 1 is the iconic line
that I think you you just can't get
away from.

(12:41):
When you talk about the hobby, every time
is how... What when we talked about it
last week about
in a hole in the ground, they're lived
a hobbit.
And
how he wrote that down in a, what
did he say?
It was
sheer joy or it was a serendipity that
this blank white sheet of paper came up
in the grading of all these other
term papers, whatever it was that they were.

(13:02):
And he wrote just had had an inkling
right in the hole in the ground or
love the hobbit. Now Tolkien wasn't exactly known
always for his memory being exactly perfect. But
something like that certainly happened.
And this idea what's interesting to is a
lot of people.
What's funny.
As I was reading through this, a lot
of people, like,
we're saying, like, know, Tolkien started this the
wrong way. You never are supposed to begin

(13:24):
a story
by describing the place and the people. Like
you actually want to get into the story
and talking to something completely wrong, which is
describe...
Here's this home.
That this guy lives in, but we don't
even know the guy, so why do we
care about the home. And I find it
that it's so charming that he
he does this, and he he creates a
world for us, And and that's his strength

(13:45):
when we think about how he wrote the
Si and he wrote the word rings. He
creates a world and to me that's the
most important character in that's what I love
the most in the stories. He creates the
character of the world. And that's what he
does first. And I haven't seen people
read it and go like now. I'm gonna
stop now because he's talking about some hobbit
hole. Right? Which is right. And... But I

(14:05):
like where you went there. I I
have come to to view basically,
Middle Earth as its as its own character
in tolkien's work. He really loved
middle earth itself. He really loved the land.
And I think it's Apr propose. He starts
that he starts the hobbit. With the earth.
Literally, this case the earth, not the whole

(14:26):
earth It's not ar, But But. But the
earth... The earth in which habits live.
Not only the the Earth, but he he
creates
he creates a unique environment that is
comfortable and
still,
it's home to us. Right? He talks about
the, you know, you've got bathrooms and sellers

(14:48):
and and wardrobes and kitchens and dining rooms
and wood handling and windows. So it's it's
weird. It's it's
out of the ordinary, it's something totally new,
but something totally comfortable. And so right away,
he's building up this level of, you know,
this is interesting. But this is this is
this is a place where it's comfortable and
it's home. And I, we get right into
the whole idea of, like, what what what
it means to be a hobbit, more than

(15:10):
even like, what at what point does even
mention the word bilbo? It's not until what
the
third page on here? It's it's it's a
ways down. He doesn't even mention he says
the bag ends. There was a wagon, but
he does... Doesn't even mention who the character
is. And so he creates a a framework
of comfort of being very hobby. Right?

(15:30):
And as we move forward,
we start realizing there's this
attention between what a being what a hobbit
is and being what I took is.
And so this whole chapter to me,
and tell me if you think this is...
Because because just so you guys know. We...
Michael and I don't go over all our
notes for the hobbit when we read through
this. We kinda... We talked through it and
we we we respond and react to each

(15:51):
other's in insights.
This is the first chapter. What Tolkien does
is he sets up
the
turkish seed in frodo and how it slowly
goes from, you know, Gandalf being good morning
to Frodo feeling like he's missing out.
To, you know, the point later in the
chapter where he... He where he he feels

(16:13):
slight by the dwarves and how they're... You
know, they're... They don't respect him. They I
can't remember the exact words. But, you know,
he comes in and,
and he he takes on the mantle of
the burglar even though he knows that that's
that's that's the took side in him coming
out. And so I... I... Yeah.
I think I I really like that. I
like.
What I see in this whole and just

(16:34):
to to go back a little bit So
he starts with the hole in the ground.
Right? And then he's quick to say, okay.
Once he starts developing this story. But this
isn't your right to their hole. And he
finishes that short paragraph was... It was a
hobbit hole. That means comfort. And then what
does he do? He goes through for paragraphs
talking about the life of hobbit and how
hobbit holes mean comfort. And so what he

(16:56):
puts in there
from shiny brass knobs in the middle of
doors to panel walls and carpets and tile
and and
is fascinating to me because... And then and
then you... I think correctly,
identify a shift, which is to talk about
the Turkish side and the adventure site. Because

(17:17):
essentially what the hobbit is is is a
story which has this tension in it, which
is makes it highly unusual. We think of
lord of the rings as fantasy. Right?
We think of the world as a fantasy
world and that usually means like high medieval
world. But if you look at the details
that he's talking about where he... When he
first our introduction to this world as it

(17:39):
would eventually unfold, not of course, in the
very beginning of Ready, but as would eventually
fault is Hobbits, that that the the... That's
they are the introduction.
And
their world is very
eighteenth nineteenth century
English.
So it's not actually a fantasy world. You
know, a world that has the meta metallurgical

(17:59):
abilities to create normal, shiny brass knobs on
the middle of doors.
And and panel panel the walls and tiles
and carpet and things like that. That's a
that's a that's a
more technological technologically advanced world than most,
especially since this is a normal, this isn't
the the the castle of a king. This
is the Yeah, you know, AAA normal

(18:21):
So we're presented with this tension, which Hobbits
always represent. Re they represent this comfortable,
love of the earth, love of the good
things the, classically, of course, the hobbits represent
the English
in the countryside,
but
Is it the English in the countryside in
thirteenth fourteenth century England?
No. It is not. It is the English

(18:43):
in the countryside of nineteenth and 20, early
twentieth maybe eighteenth, late eighteenth, nineteenth early twentieth
century. And so you have this world
that's gonna be very firmly a ferry story
with all kinds of ferry elements, but the
place it starts
is essentially nineteenth Century England in the in
a rural town at 19 Central England, but

(19:04):
with these creatures.
And so I love that tension where he's
taking a thing that he loves and finds
familiar and admire all with all of the
domestic virtue.
And then he says, but there's this other
element. The tu and the tu represented adventure,
and, of course,
Gandalf comes along and in the modern business

(19:24):
world, we would call it, activates.
He activates the turkish side
of of Bilbo.
And and brings about this grand adventure, which
quickly leaves the Shire and most signs of
domestic behind with a an exception of a
few places.
That they travel to.
And and and we were left... We're we're
spun away on this grand venture. But I

(19:45):
think it's important
that Tolkien's world is literally grounded in a
in a nineteenth century
Victorian rural
English village essentially.
And and and that... And that's the that's
the sort of backdrop of the... His main
character and what he
starts in and what he returns to at

(20:05):
the end, which is, I think always an
important analysis of a book is where does
a book start and where and where the
character is going, what is the... Mh. What's
the end of the journey? Right. And stay
in place. And he sets up He sets
up Bilbo journey right there in those first
couple chapters because he's going to that turkish
side. What does it take for him to
get into that, you know, into, the ruler

(20:27):
took mode or he actually does something grand
and earth shattering.
Right. I love the line... The line that
sticks out me the most when you're talking
about, like, it's the world.
That that just was... That that was just
before tolkien grew up. Right? World of
less noise and more green.
Right. What is what he puts it
a little bit later in the chapter.

(20:49):
He has a planning for that in the
same way mean, honestly, that I do right
now. Like, I I wanna... I wanna move
out into the country and and have
be able to sit on the back porch
and not hear any cars go by or
any planes fly over or anything like that.
And find that less noise and and more
green, and I think that for me, that
speaks to me a lot right now.
Is a human thing. I think there... It

(21:10):
speaks to us on a human level. I'm
not... I'm not gonna claim it's a hundred
percent of humans, but but their... Most people
in their life reach a point.
Sometimes early on sometimes later, where that's what
they look for. We look for a kind
of piece and that piece is isn't to
be found
in the world of just glowing screens and

(21:30):
urban life.
There's a... It it it involves a kind
of interaction with the natural world. Hobbits are
so
deep
sorry, Pun unintended. They they're literally deep in
that world or at least Bilbo is that
they're out and they're surrounded by this greenery
or, They're a part of it and their
life is ideal in a way that is

(21:50):
very attractive to us. That's why
to this day,
New Zealand, the Shire
set. Is 1 of the most visited
places in New Zealand, I think.
Massive tourism.
Because this
life in the shire
tolkien had such a wonderful vision of,
happiness living in the world and with the

(22:11):
greenery and and and out you know, in
a way that's that's non industrial.
Sorry. The only thing I could think of
is as Michael Ware is your shire, and
for any of you who goes.
That's all I can think about.
Was in my head
just wasn't to the interviews we had with
the the the the the stars and the

(22:34):
the
the crew of
of the the return of the king in
our 2003 round tape using. You know which
you'll know what I mean. Okay. So so
this is where It's interesting. Right So... What
Does is he sets up this the the
shire, the id shire, but yet, that tu
ness pulls at him he can't quite get
there and then Gandalf arrives.

(22:54):
And
it's sort of like the battle between
the shire being the 1 place he wants
to be, and, while, we'll get to in
a little bit. But where now,
the guy that is who would bring all
this adventure and problems into the shot problems
in the sense.

(23:15):
Brings up that tu us back back into
Bilbo.
And they do it through the word good
morning, and... It's it's gotta be, like, for
this to be 1 of the first things
that he wrote, I don't know if he
he did originally write this, but man. What
a great turn of phrase
to be used repeatedly to to set up
who this character
is.

(23:35):
But so so
it immediately starts Right? There's comfort in what
Bilbo doing. He's sitting out there smoking a
wooden pipe make smoking an enormous long wooden
pipe that reached nearly down to his Wool
toes.
Gandalf came by Gandalf if you had heard
only a quarter of what I've heard about
him, and I have only heard very little
of all.
There is there is to hear you would

(23:57):
be prepared for any sort of remarkable tail,
which is actually very different. And we'll go
over this in our extended edition about what
what he actually
the way he actually described Gandalf.
But right away now, you know, we
giving the early version. The early 19 37
version, where where Gandalf was a short little
man. And.

(24:18):
But but his his eyebrows still stuck out
beyond the brim of his hat, But Don't
think his hat was as big as what
we would imagine his hat to be
from Peter Jackson's Films.
So he comes in, they they they they
sit there. They smoke. Right, there's... Okay. So
now that's back to being comfortable.
And
Bilbo says good morning, and he means it.
I love how how Tolkien says he means

(24:38):
it. It wasn't... It wasn't just like a,
you know, you're walking by some guy and
in front of your house and you just
say good morning to him, and they look
away right away. No. No. He said, good
morning because he's a hobbit. He's a host.
He wants to
You know, he appreciates the people on So
he'll say, good morning, and He'll mean it
It is good morning. The sun was shining,
the grass is green.
But then maybe he has second thoughts about
that because I love how how game responds

(25:00):
with. But What do you mean?
And this here, I think this is sort
of like this
The lines Bilbo has and Lord rings are
great when he, you know, when he... When
he's giving his speech at his birthday party.
But this is great from the perspective of
how Gandalf is now playing with him. He's
like, you know, he he asks. Him, do
you wish me a good morning or mean
that it is a good morning whether I
want or not to or that you feel

(25:21):
good this morning that... Or that it is
morning to be good on.
And it's already... That feels very chester Tony
into me. That's a the get handle. Yeah.
Know, he takes a phrase and then he
plays with it and and brings out
widely varied meaning, sometimes paradox.
It's great. Yeah. Yeah.
The the the good morning that was supposed

(25:42):
to bring even more comfort. Right be pleasant.
He meant it because it was such a
fine morning, Gandalf immediately turns it and was
like, wait a second. Are you are you
toy with me, Bill? Well, what's your real
objective here in saying good morning to me?
And not only... So not only is it
is it... You know, it's... It's a very
subtle way of including

(26:03):
conflict
here.
Because all of a sudden, now Bilbo has
to be on the defensive about the good
morning,
but Gandalf becomes more mysterious because he doesn't
accept good morning is just the word good
morning. So even the the the very first
time you meet these characters are He's setting
up who these characters are in just the
phrase. Good morning. I don't know... That's how
I read it, like, going through it, multiple
times that this good morning phrase. It is

(26:25):
actually encompasses
the creation of these characters in such a
familiar and familiar familiar
and
I
identifiable way and that we can identify with
them, but yet, the mysterious of Gandalf is
brought out, and the...
The home home, the
the familiarity of Bilbo
is born out in the word morning warning?

(26:46):
And that... How do you read the whole
good morning phrase and and what's stuck out
to you?
I feel like it's the most more important
part of this chapter almost.
Right. It is it is a a very
unusual way to introduce our 2 primary characters
in the book.
And it seems very English to me. That's
it's a turn of phrase. It has, ultimately,
in this conversation it has 5 different means

(27:06):
potentially.
Gandalf brings up,
4,
immediately.
Bilbo claims that it's all at once. He
means all 4 of them, but he does
him to actually.
He he met he means the second 1,
for what I gather of the reasoning. The
second 1 was,
It is a good morning whether I want
it or not. In other words, bilbo was

(27:26):
making an objective statement. This is a good
morning was Be why?
How do I know that? Because it's... Because
the author tells me. The sun... And he
meant it. The sun was shiny. The grass
was very green. So these are these are
objectively true things They got nothing to do
with Billboard gandalf off there just... This is
the morning was good and Billable declared it.
Now, finally, Bilbo is gonna end the conversation

(27:47):
very un uncomfortable then... And I quote,
quite uncomfortable and even a little cross.
Good morning. He said at last. We don't
want any adventures here. Thank you. You might
try over the hill or or across the
water. By this, he meant that the
conversation was at an end.
What a lot of things you do use
good morning for us at Gandalf?
Now you mean you want to get rid

(28:08):
of me, and then it won't be good
until I move off. So so it it...
It's a word play. So we're introduced to
these characters and they're respective attitudes towards each
other, less about Gandalf, Gandalf still a bit
of a mystery,
but we learn a lot about Elbow,
and a little bit about Gandalf,
all through just the word like, very British,
very wonderful.

(28:29):
I love it. It's my sense of humor,
but highly unusual. And and also
also, it's very british because it...
You're supposed to say good morning. It's a
courtesy thing. The British like, you know, even
if your life is falling apart, nevertheless, you
say good morning.
So so there's a real sense that, you

(28:52):
know, this this this is a very
this is a very english way of approaching
character
introductions in my mind. And I love it.
I guess it's very theological. Right? So what
Just would would do too. He would take
the words and he would play them out
in that way too. Great point. So Gandalf
comes in,
you know, he's been good morning
as we learn later to to think I've
been good morning

(29:13):
by,
the Son of Took.
But there's there's 1 phrase, and I wanna
bring this up. And and, you know, this
just sort of going through what what we
found interesting in this here. Is that
I'm gonna read this whole line
because it...
It's it's a long paragraph, but I think
it it shows Bilbo

(29:34):
struggle within himself. Right? That that I'm I'm
letting my tu is come out.
It's when he learns that this is the
Gandalf. Right? This is after Gandalf says, to
think that I should have live to be
good morning by Bella took sun as if
I was selling buttons at the door, and
then Bilbo says Gandalf, Gandalf good gracious me.
Not the wandering wizard that gave Took a
pair of magic diamond studs that fastened themselves

(29:56):
and never came undone till ordered, not the
fellow who used to tell such wonderful tales,
notice that these are now positive words. Such
wonderful tails, not not... It's not scary. They're
great tales.
Wonderful tales at parties about Dragons and goblins
and giants and the rescue of princesses and
the unexpected luck of widows sons which we'll
get back to in a minute,
not the man that used to make such

(30:16):
particularly excellent fireworks. I remember those. All took
used to have them on
midsummer eve, splendid. They used to go up
like great Lily and snapdragon dragons and Of
fire and hanging in the twilight all evening.
You notice already that mister Bag was not
quite so pros as he liked to believe,
also that he was very fond of Flowers.
Dear me, he went on not gandalf enough
who was responsible for so many quiet lads

(30:38):
and las going off into the blue for
mad adventures,
which is interesting because
If part of that phrase that seems like
it doesn't hold true
with the who the Gandalf becomes in in
Order things, but we can talk about that.
Anything from climbing trees to visiting elves or
sailing and ships sailing to the shores plus
me, life used to be quite inter.
I mean, you used to upset things badly

(31:00):
these parts once upon a time. I beg
your pardon, but I had no idea you
were still in business. He's... It's like he's
speaking all these things like the wonder of
it all. Right? It's it's bubbling up the
the smoke is there and there's some Em
growing within him. And then he's like, bless
me Life used to be really inter and
then he realized like, oh, no. This is
not interesting. Is it... Wait. Is it and
should I it's interesting or not. And so
he switches it, I mean, you used to

(31:21):
set upset things badly in these parts once
upon a time,
and I think that's where, like, turn is
just likely that that Em is grown within
a man, and it's not it's not gonna
be shut off. But he's trying to. He's
trying to turn it off at this point.
Well, part of them is. Part of transfer
off. And that wins for the moment. You're
right. Yeah it's the proper hobbit. So so
the bag ends versus the talk.

(31:43):
And so the so the bag ins wins.
Mh. In in this in this... And and
he... He's decided that he doesn't wanna me
more of this, although, you know, he's kicked...
The took took part as you mentioned, gets
tip gets carried away in that paragraph or
2.
Gandalf continues his play at that point. So
Bilbo says I beg your pardon. I had
no idea your still business and again Says
where should I be all the same I

(32:03):
please do you? You remember by my fireworks
and your and indeed for your grandfather took
sake and the sake of poor Donna. I
will give you what you asked for. I
beg your partner I haven't asked for anything.
Yes, You have. Twice now. My pardon. I
give it to you. In fact, I will
go so far as to send you on
this adventure. Very amusing for me. Very good
for you, and profitable too very likely if

(32:24):
you ever get over it.
So it... This is... This is that that
response that organ gan just takes bilbo enthusiasm,
even though Bilbo has tried to back away
from his turkish enthusiasm,
He just takes it and and just sweep
bill up into this the story of the
hobbit,
because of that reaction, and he does it

(32:44):
in the most english way possible, which is
with Word play. Yeah. I'll give you what
you asked for. I haven't asked for anything.
Yes, you have. My pardon twice. And I
give it to you. So... Because he's in
I beg pardon. So this is just Gandalf
off playing words the way gandalf up was
playing words with good morning, but he is
doing it for a wider purpose, a larger
purpose. And he's decided to bill as his
man or Hobbit as the case may be.
Burglar as we will find out.

(33:07):
That
Yep. Go go ahead.
No. I think could say, Gandalf has has
taken the initiative. He is now in control
the situation. Mh. All because of the took
slip, the bill like, the the fact he
got so excited about seeing Gandalf off. Yeah.
You can imagine a different universe where Bilbo
never... He's like, oh, yeah. Again, I'll remember

(33:27):
you. You used caused a lot of trouble.
Good day.
Good morning, You, go away and repeat himself,
and and the hobbit may have never happened
Gandalf enough might have left. And but but
that that paragraph where he's... He is token
enthusiasm and takes over again off he's the
spark in him. That's the 1 that that
I think so whisk him out out the
door,

(33:48):
you know, in know, a few days. But,
yeah. And this is after, like, a...
Right after he says he's gonna send him
on. Like, Bill was like, whoa, No No.
No No. No. Am My my bag side
is taken over, not today. Good morning.
1 more time. I just love out the
good morning comes out and sort of a
in the,
intermittent phrase there.
Exactly. And and and all along the way,

(34:09):
Bilbo, the enemy, Bilbo enemy
He's up against something, and, I see an
enemy in a air quotes way. He's up
against something that the proper the P and
proper bag ins and the,
you know, the the safe habit culture can't
handle. He's up against someone
that uses his polite
words

(34:30):
to whisk him into an adventure. He uses
good morning. He uses I beg your pardon.
And then finally, he uses
Bilbo
reflex
courtesy where Bilbo says, good morning. Again.
But please come to tea anytime you like,
1 not tomorrow. Come tomorrow. Goodbye. With that
at the hobbit, he just turns and runs
and runs back into the

(34:51):
into the hospital.
So he had he literally invites him to
tea but you can tell it's reflex courtesy.
He doesn't even... Yeah. He he later... He
remembers he's like, why did I invite him
to tea, but then he quickly forgets about
it. Clearly, he didn't mean to invite him
to entity didn't want to invite them into
tea, but it was reflective of courtesy and
Gandalf chuckle about it.
Carbs into his door, and then

(35:12):
and and then off goes and the and
the the adventure as a foot. It's it
always bothered me honestly since we're with the
carving on the door. Like,
that would that would really make me angry
that the guy just carved into my door.
What who does this? Well, obviously, the Wizard
does this. But what the first time I
read that, I was like, oh, that's that's
kind of a thing They had homeowners. Yep.

(35:33):
Exactly. Like, for us, we're Yeah. We get
we get... Especially in in Americans we're, you
know, about our property.
My property. But but but it is really
it... It's really interesting because Gandalf is that
kind of a figure.
It is a true breach of of courtesy
Which even gandalf off recognizes because he spends
time hammering the mark out that he carbs
in the door. The next day he he

(35:55):
hides his his mark that he scratches by
by making dense in the door which not
much of a hide. But
but what's interesting is, Gandalf is the sort
of figure who is above custom courtesy.
He is this force of adventure. He is
this force from outside the Shire.
Doesn't care a fig for the hobbits
courtesy. In fact, he just uses the them

(36:17):
against him. Right. To accomplish his purpose. And
so in in the... This is worth becoming
a ferry story. Here's a wizard. And the
wizard doesn't care about your rules of politeness
or what you really meant. You he he'll
he'll use whatever he needs to get his
way. And he does. Yep. Yeah the the
picture behind me is wrong.

(36:38):
The s was as was the movie.
In what sense where the window is?
The door. I can't see it well enough.
What's up with the door. Let me zoom
in on you here. It does not have
a brass knob the middle in the middle
Or no. It doesn't. Do It didn't... I
think the movies did. I think they didn't
have. I don't think they had it in
the middle. I think they had it on
the side. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe they didn't.

(37:00):
Anyway,
Okay. So so so
we're gonna end it here. However, there are
a few interesting things that I think we
need to bring up. And 1 of them
is the unexpected luck of Widow sons where
Bilbo says this. He's... Gandalf is not the
fellow who used to tell such wonderful tales
at parties about Dragons and goblins and giants
and the rescue of princesses,
and the unexpected luck of Widow Sons. And

(37:21):
I had that when I read that, I
had that marked up? I'm like, what what
is he talking about the... We just looking
as me.
Oh, because you're so important, Michael Bam.
I'm looking at you.
There you go. Sorry.
Alright. We're back. So... Yeah. So what is
unexpected luck of Widow sons,
and what
we had a self preferential there a little

(37:42):
bit.
Well, maybe,
here's the thing. We had a comment from
P miles 56 on our last episode on
Youtube, and this is what he wrote. And
thanks like, he did the research tonight, so
we didn't have to, but this is awesome.
A while ago, he says I asked myself
where specifically Tolkien might have read a story
about the unexpected look of Buddha sons, of
phrase Bill used in the first conversation with
Gandalf the answer it out to be The

(38:03):
Red Et, a story in the blue ferry
book, the first of Andrew Lang colored ferry
books, which if you listen to us talking
on fairy stories, that's what Tolkien references.
A couple of times.
There are, in fact, 3 widow sons in
the stories in the story, together with some
other parallels a knife with which changes color,
a helpful raven, a riddle game which the

(38:24):
evil Et knows it is bound by. It
also has 3 heads. The rescue of a
princess them systematically the hero winds because it
wins through because, like Bilbo he is at
once generous brave and imp, thus pre figuring
the theme of providence
favoring those who deserve it.
Yeah. So
So so ultimately, like, it's not necessarily that

(38:46):
this was a a specific inspiration for the
whole story. But, clearly, tolkien knew about it
and said the unexpected what luck Woulda suns
because he was t speaking, as a ferry
story, with what you mentioned earlier that this
is what it is, So why not talk
about in the sense other fairy stories. That's
why he in the original 1 he brought
up Lil.
That's right. Yeah. So yep.
If you've ever wondered what

(39:07):
this in, but he he took out a
Little is a little too specific probably. So
he did where's whereas this one's...
You get probably get
Heat little.
He took out elephant,
the steam engine. So where's the steam engines?
C engines is? I'm finding really fast because,
you know, I have my copy of the
annotated hobbit here. And then he also talked.

(39:27):
He also got rid of, since we're looking
at it.
He said he used to say tomatoes and
pickles.
But since tomatoes were from the new world.
Yep.
He changed it to cold. I think it
was let me find it here, cold chicken
and pickles. Cool chicken and pickles. Oh, it's
cold chicken and tomatoes, and he changes it
to cold chicken and pickles.

(39:49):
This is further on the story. But those
are the things that he got rid of
2 bring it more into a
English Aisle centric story, so he wasn't... Didn't
have elephant. It didn't have
tomatoes that didn't have steam engines at the
time. But it still has clocks
in doorbell bills
and brass.
And brass.

(40:12):
Yeah. Again. Again, this is a... This is...
We're leaving, you know, in a way it's
a bit like and talking
slap me. I'm sure if he was around,
but it's a bit like the lion language
witch in the wardrobe,
where you... You did leave the the comfortable
English tutor home right to enter a world
of Fantasy
in talking in the hobby of the case
of the hobbit, the Fantasy world comes to

(40:33):
the comfortable.
Underground the English tutor home with all of
its,
I mean, you can't imagine clocks. I mean,
I guess, forbes could make clocks.
Probably.
Yeah But but but it it... But what
we don't see is references to that level
of technology
throughout the rest of the lord of the

(40:54):
rings and rarely in the hobbit. So so
there is a... There is a
disconnect, which has become so familiar to me
that I have to notice it, but there
is a disconnect between the world of the
shire and what it has, you know, even
the interior design of their homes.
Is just way above medieval level stuff.

(41:15):
And it it's just nineteenth Century English stuff
is what it is. And maybe eighteenth late
eighteenth, but, yeah. It's It's yeah
the... This is where
in case you haven't heard, we're going to
be looking at the,
like, the aborted rewrite
of the
hobbit that Tolkien began in 19 60. He

(41:35):
only got, like, 3 and a half chapters
in. I think it was.
And see how he changed it because
It does lose that
won fairy tale aspect of it by becoming
more
grounded in middle Earth.
Mh.
And so even, I think in the 19
37 edition, when,
here he talks about how

(41:59):
It was often said in other families that
long ago, 1 of the took ancestors must
have taken a fairy wife It was often
said in other families that long ago, 1
of the took ancestors must have taken a
ferry wife. Well, originally,
in the 19 37 edition, Tok road, it
had always been said that long ago, 1
or other of the tu had married into

(42:20):
a fairy family, the less friend said a
goblin family.
And so he's he's pulling back a little
bit from that,
because he adds in the new edition, the
19 66 edition, the final dish edition that
we're reading right now. That was, of course
absurd, but certainly, there was blah blah blah.
So the he added the... There was a...
That was, of course, absurd whereas

(42:42):
In the original addition, that was not absurd
because it was a ferry story. So maybe
the took did marry into a fairy family.
And Ferry was not necessarily the elves of
Middle Earth at this point in time. It
was something completely different. And that brings us
all the way back to, you can't read
the hobbit.
As sort of a history book of middle
Earth because it wasn't meant to be that
in the same way that the lord of
the Rings is a history a is a

(43:02):
history of what happened in in the the
war of ring. But hobbit is completely different
in the same way that I said, Tom
Bomb is completely different. You can't read that
into it. But I love seeing all these
differences because I think it makes me still
wonder something we brought up in the last.
So just tolkien regret at all. The changes
that he made
to
does he regret it on not being able

(43:23):
to change the hobbit as much as he
wanted to? Or does he wish he would've
have... He would have originally had it more
in the world of middle Earth?
But then again,
it never would've have been published if that
would have been that way.
Correct. And I don't know what tolkien thought.
I know what I would have thought in
his place, so we could say that I
could say that, which is
based on what he says in fair... On

(43:43):
various stories,
he believes used that it's appropriate and good
to have various stories for children and various
stories for adults.
And I think that what he... There there
was some
convenience or desire in him. He would probably
describe it as an unfolding of the story
that the way the story unfolded that all
of a sudden, he discovered. He likes using

(44:04):
that word. He discovered that that the hobbit
was connected to Lord of the rings
And so then he had the job of
mel them because of course, there were in
con
to be had between the 2. And he
never really fully melted the up. They they
they still remain. And... But I think that
that

(44:24):
There's a sense that the world of the
shire was always this wonderful place to retreat
to in Middle Earth,
which is utterly different.
From the beauty of a place like, even
other good places like R and La Lori
and
minas and such,
their
their he other havens,

(44:45):
and and it just has this character, which
is child like, and I think that that
is not something he regrets because he leans
so heavily,
in, he did... He far it from transitioning
away from hobbits in the lord of the
rings, he gives us 4 of them as
main characters instead of 1. So so he
really leans into the hobbit side of things.

(45:08):
And I and I think that,
that
for him, it was an in
part of the story. He just wasn't quite
sure how to make it fit in some
cases.
And and
ultimately abandoned his effort to make it to
to completely change it. That's what I find
fascinating. The hobbit, I think... I, sorry. The
the Shire retains the hobbits,

(45:31):
child like nature. Mh. And and he had
a had 1 point had of thought to
to shift it completely over into the very
adult fairy story of Lord of the rings
and give it that character more of it
anyway, and he abandoned that. So
So I... So I'm gonna
bring this around a little bit. I I
think... Well, when they say write what you

(45:51):
know And what a tolkien say, I'm gonna
hobbit in everything but size So he knew
what it was like to be a hobbit.
And so if he's gonna write a story
set in the world of middle earth, like
a story that
is a prose story
not a not an attempt at some great,
like, the lay of Lat of of Lu
and and and Right baron and everything.
He would write a story that he felt
like he could be a part of because

(46:12):
that makes it a whole lot easier. Right
What you know. In the same way,
I was, well, not in the same way,
but I I read the book tolkien in
the Great war, which is all about the
time period,
really from 19 10 to 19 what is
it 19 17? Or is that when the
where war 1 ended?
And about how 19 18... 19 18. Okay.
So
about how

(46:33):
his group of of of friends the Tc
as they call it, Oh, I can't remember
what that stands for exactly,
something something Bo behemoth society.
Anyway,
They
they they... The 2 of them 2 of
them died in the in the war 2
or 3 of them died, but their goal,
3 of them. Their goal was 2
write,

(46:53):
great,
noticeable
things and improve the literary culture of England.
Right? That was what they wanted to do.
And so when Tolkien wrote
the Si Merlin. Right? When he wrote the,
like, these these early tales, of the book
of lost tales, and he sent them to
his friends, like, they were like, this is
amazing, the, like, this is something you need
to look into and he wrote some some

(47:14):
of some of the poultry with it.
But that's the sort of stuff. Yeah. That
kind of raises the level guess, you could
say, right, there's there's a there's a scholar
less, scholar ness to it. But with the
hobbit, the accessibility of that
because it was something we can identify with
is a completely different beast, but I don't
think he would ever gotten to the hub
without studying all the sort of stuff that

(47:34):
he studied. Because he felt like he had
to write something greater
for the literary culture for the culture of
England. I love that. I I love that
reconnect connection, and I would add to that
by saying
there's something to be said for when you're
wanting to create a secondary world. You gotta...
And to make a believable
joking no doubt new that you had you

(47:55):
have to... The most believable you could make
it is
all cultures have languages and words of their
own.
So he he was set about inventing that.
It is a human thing. All cultures
have poetry and song. This is a part
of human existence and tolkien was very fond
of that.
They have history and wars and great movements

(48:17):
of people. So tolkien was writing about all
that.
What I love about the hobbit is, the
hobbit takes
the domestic the small the close the things
that we love that are around us. And
brings that into the world that makes the
world real and l and Mh. And and
attractive
at the micro level, not just the macro

(48:39):
level of the history and the wars and
the post.
And the and the the great deeds in
the in the song, in the and the
languages,
he has all that, even even alphabet and
such. But but he then
also takes care to to bring to us,
the domestic, the small, the personal,
the the the

(49:01):
comfortable.
And and that, I think does its own
work. It's only heavy you lifting in in
carving a place in our hearts for middle
earth.
Yeah. Yeah. These are these are the first
etching of it in our hearts. Right? You
would you wouldn't come to
the the the Val qui and be, like,
I love this. It's we're it's really hard
to get into unless you know where it's

(49:22):
kind of going. Right okay. Alright, guys. We're
we're gonna shut it down there. Except for
2 things. 1,
you know, you can become a member of
the learning dot com or yeah. Exploring tolkien
dot com. We're trying to decide. Maybe we'll
switch it up.
You can become a member. The 1 dot
com slash member. We're gonna talk a little
bit more about a couple notes in here,
including
what essential talking says about 20 years or

(49:43):
it has about 20 years for hobbits because
a lot of people kind of said, like,
I'll talk so at 20 years. Well maybe
he kinda did. We're gonna we're gonna take
a look at in the... This is the
annotated hobbit.
Got a a couple a couple of notes
from from Mandy and William here that we're
gonna take a look at you. Including other
things here in the amputated hobbit in history
have a hobbit that I think are a
little deeper looks

(50:03):
into what we
what we can learn from how Tolkien got
to where he was with the hobbit. Alright.
So, but first, something we haven't done a
little while is... If you like talking.
So
I have a lot of copies of the
hobbit. There's this 1 the new 1 the
annotated habit, which will we'll will link below.
Right? Okay? So There's there's this 1 here

(50:25):
I showed earlier my golden fiftieth anniversary edition
of the hobbit. That's beautiful.
This would be 19 87, I think. Wouldn't
that be 50 or it 50 on his
birth on the university of his desk because
I didn't get this at 19 87. I
need to find out. Actually. Now that look
at it, but it is... We gotta go
in last year.
Was to 50 Anniversary was death with last
year.
Did you get?

(50:46):
Oh, maybe it was the of 19 66.
Okay. Of the publishing here. Yeah. That would
make more sense. 20 60.
26 me. Yeah. So that was probably that.
So I've got that that issue. I'm gonna
show you. This is coming up to to
the na of of all the all the
copies of the hobbit. So I've got this
this still in enclosed. This is a a

(51:06):
what is this The limited edition collectors box
for the hobbit that came out probably in
2003, I never opened this up, but they
published it then. There's this copy of the
hobbit. It's the comic book version. Of the
hobbit that came out. Like, like, 20 years
ago. Yeah. I never really read it actually.
But I got, like, 10 copies of it.
There's this copy of the hobbit, man. This
again, this is
Allen Lee's,
illustrated version? I like... I actually like that

(51:27):
1. I have that 1.
Yeah. This 1 is is really nice. I
really enjoy this 1. There is, this copy
of the hobbit
with illustrated by Caitlyn.
Which is kinda... Different the the binding is
really unique on this 1. And and, actually,
it's got... It's got nice some nice drawings
in their two's. For reading with the kids.
I did this with the kids and I
Android because it has just a little bit

(51:47):
more flavor to us. Alright. We're getting we're
getting pretty high in to stack here, but
I'm not done yet because there's even more
to like,
holy macro.
Alright. So I've got... This is actually... Might
be my favorite cover of the hobbit. Just
because the world drawing, this is, A lee.
Yeah. Ellen looks like Only here.
And this the this was... Or mike...
Okay. Guys. Sorry. I I don't remember. In

(52:10):
any case, it's 1 of the big 2
I'm gonna actually add
10 assets to speak 3. However, I kinda
I really love this the trade paper back
version. Came out around the turn of the
century.
These are my... I have I have all
the different covers of that. I just feel
is really classy. Right? Does that look really
nice? It's just very good... That's in that's
an nice.
A good cover can really make them an

(52:30):
addition. Yeah. Food.
Yeah. Right? Okay. So this is not the
greatest cover, but it's not too bad. It's
just really... This is sort of the Robert
Jordan when that was coming out, This is
what they did. I put Jared tolkien in
sort of, like, a Pap virus font and
we'll make it work.
Alright. So then here, the greatest cover
ever

(52:50):
own. Of the hobbit,
and I've mentioned it before.
Oh,
sorry. This is the 19
19 87 edition, but I... Okay. So I
found this on ebay for, like, 3 bucks,
and I'm, I have to have... I don't
have this copy, but I think this is
the copy that my parents might have had
or by bought me, and I don't have
it anymore or maybe it's. I don't even

(53:11):
wanna know who the illustrator is. Because... That
I would hate them and I don't wanna...
It's not an illustration. It's a picture dude.
It's actually a picture. It's a guy in
a gollum suit with a fat photo and
f really It's a photo. Yeah. It's sort
of weird photo. It's, like Rot scope photo
kind of you know, like, we're not... What's
whatever that... It's pretty bad. I need... I

(53:32):
should see if I can find what the
the cover is. I have even older version
down stairs, which is the the 1 with...
Just looks like it has the shire,
the picture of bag,
the painting of I again. The bill,
like, told paper back. Yeah. It's a paper
bag. Yeah. I Yeah. I need to get,
like the 19 6. I was looking. I
don't have it. Yeah. That was from the

(53:53):
seventies or sixties.
Edition. Yeah. That makes
a lot of copies of the hobbit that
I've got now. I just added the the
annotated hobby.
You you win. You win on that 1.
That's for sure.
I will say, because of the the website
and now doing the podcast, they do... Well,
I haven't got any of, but they would...
They would send me all the additions back
in the day when, especially when the boots
are coming out because we'd review them nice.

(54:14):
I still have those copies a it.
Anyway, alright. So if you like Tolkien, there's
some awesome copy there... Like, dude, just go
on ebay. You can find some great versions
of the hobbit. Like this annotated copy of
the hobbit. It was from some goodwill story
like Montana or something like that. It is
in great pristine condition. It was 9 bucks.
So
it's a Nice. But if you want if
you wanna support us, you can combine it
on Amazon because we put it so it's

(54:35):
own affiliate link. But I'm just saying you
can get it for cheaper on
on ebay if you want to.
Oh, so they're... Sorry. I'm so far away.
Okay. There. Okay. So heavy. Alright. Andy these
we go.
Let's jump into our guys go to the
dot com slash member to become a member
to hear it because it's so awesome.
And we're gonna tell you about the very
special thing that happened during the middle of
this episode. I don't know if you caught

(54:56):
it. But boy Howdy. That was kinda fun.
We're gonna we're gonna let all of our
supporters in on
on the it was super fun, But if
you're a free free, you'll never know. Bye
bye. He'll never know for orders.