Park Forest, IL–(ENEWSPF)– eNews Park Forest celebrates its eleventy-first issue today. Afficionados of Professor J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings recognize that as the number 111. Yes, we’ve published 111 weekly issues of eNews Park Forest.
How should we properly celebrate our eleventy-first? You may recall from reading the good Professor or watching The Fellowship of the Ring, Bilbo Baggins celebrates his 11th birthday with a Long-Expected Party, toasting the Hobbits of the Shire, slipping on the One Ring, and vanishing forever from the sight of his guests.
Nothing so dramatic here.
A few weeks back, I received an email from Adolfo Mendez of the Inland Press Association reminding me that eNews Park Forest must fast be approaching it’s one-hundredth issue. He was right. We had an announcement to make! We had to spread the good news!
Well, we ended up publishing news right through our 100th issue and beyond.
When I saw this evening that this was our 111th, our eleventy-first issue, I couldn’t let the occasion pass another day.
So what might be the appropriate response for an eleventy-first? Well, January 3, 2003 saw the eleventy-first anniversary of the birth of Professor Tolkien. The Tolkien Society published at the time a recommended toast honoring "The Professor":
To make the Birthday Toast, you stand, raise a glass of your choice of drink (not necessarily alcoholic), and say the words ‘The Professor’ before taking a sip (or swig, if that’s more appropriate for your drink). Sit and enjoy the rest of your drink.
Those who know me know my love for all things Tolkien. I’ve been "there-and-back-again" to Middle Earth many times over, and plan to return again some day. The toast to "The Professor" sounds like a good place to start.
Who might we toast? Personally, I toast our reporters and writers, all who contribute by telling us about their clubs and organizations. Thanks to all our bloggers and those who took time to comment on a story now and then. Thanks as well to our advertisers for helping us to remain online. Special thanks to Wendy Heise for her wonderful photographs, Rosemary Piser for her daily editing and publishing news off the wires, and Ken and Sue Kramer for sharing their proofreading skills every weekend before we publish.
And thank you for reading.
As winter continues to take hold this week, I invite all of you to join us as we celebrate this unique anniversary by wishing our fellow eNewsPF readers a Happy Eleventy-First. Pause wherever you are right now, take up your morning coffee, mid-morning water, afternoon tea, or evening splash, and say the words, "The Professor!" Or, perhaps more appropriately, "ENEWSPF!" Then sit, and enjoy the rest of your drink.
Happy Eleventy-First to all of you.
