Great post Thiudareiks. Tolkien was a very interesting man. I would concur that although he did indeed enjoy having fans, he did not stand for hysteria or manic fans. Although these stories have come to mean so much to so many of us, including Tolkien himself, he never meant for anyone to get too wrapped up in it. Tolkien wrote amazing stories, but he knew what so many seem to have problems accepting, they are just stories, however rooted in actual history and linguistics as they are. However as Thiudareiks stated, if you caught Tolkien's interest, he could probably sit down with you for quite awhile and chat it up. He was most likely a very pleasant man to sit down wit and talk to.