Elven Family Dynamics 101, at Lindon: Bingo Bolger-Baggins
There's a lovely view of the restless sea as I stand outside the feast hall on this marble balcony bedecked with finely carved columns embraced by twining vines heavy with the blooms of jasmine and roses. And I'm having quite a feast because no one else is bothering. The hall's rather empty because most of the visitors seem to be off nursing their ancient feuds. Immortality is not all it's cracked up to be, it seems. The family dynamics here make the quarreling at Bag-End look like a romantic candle-lit dinner. At least Sam and Frodo's fights rarely involve chainsaws!
You'd think the longer someone lived, the more enlightened they'd become. It doesn't seem to work that way, apparently. I've just been here a day and I've already encountered my fair share of elven bigotry. And I'm worried about Elanor. She seems sad, and I wonder if the family she's thrown in her lot with, as well as her lifespan, can really give her the appreciation and comfort she deserves.
It's certainly exquisitely beautiful here; the Elven sense of aesthetics is unsurpassed. But as far as social protocol goes, I won't be sad to take the next bus back to Hobbiton.
