David Smith

Certainly some politicians on Sunday pushed back against that and said, you know, this is no way to live with these twin demons of politics.

rising political violence and yes, the gun violence epidemic.

I think some in the room made the good point that what journalists experienced on Saturday night is frankly what millions of Americans have in town halls, in churches, even in schools, tragically.

And of course,

we had the benefit of the protection of the Secret Service in what was arguably the safest room in America.

But sadly, I don't think there will be a particular political reckoning over this, over gun violence or political violence.

But it does remain a scourge in America, a real characteristic of the Trump era.

Thank you.

Well, I'm retired.

I was a computer programmer for many years.

I was introduced to The Lord of the Rings by my father, who read The Hobbit to me, the original Hobbit, in 64, I believe.

From his copy that had been read to him when he was 10 years old.

That started me on a lifelong quest to read and follow as much of it.

My wife sort of tolerates it.

My son is really keen on it.

My son actually got me to go to my first moot.

So it runs the gamut.

Okay, well, I'm going to actually go back a bit to when my father was first introduced to Tolkien's works, which was in 38 or 39.

Wow.

He was 10, and he was sick, and his mother bought a copy of The Hobbit and read it to him.