"Not all those who wander are lost.
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien
(1872-1973) from The Fellowship of the Ring
Click the picture for the Tolkien Wikipedia page
Tolkien, 1916
Tolkien was born to English parents in the Orange Free State (now part of
the Union of South Africa). His father died when John was three and his
mother when he was eleven. Subsequently raised by a guardian, he attended
Exeter College at Oxford, served as a signals officer in World War One, and
worked as an etymologist on the Oxford English Dictionary, later spending 34
years as a professor at Oxford University, first of Anglo-Saxon and later of
English. Although he first gained academic recognition as a translator and
interpreter of the epic Beowulf, his book The Hobbit, originally written in
the 1930’s for the enjoyment of his children, became one of the most popular
books of the 20th century. The sequel trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, made
Tolkien first a cult figure and finally a reluctant celebrity. In 1971 he
was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth.
Good Morning Gloucester 
Welcome back Greg. I love Tolkien. Hope you can make it to our final mug up this Sunday. Is the organ installation at Harvard complete?
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Heya, EJ. I will try to attend. I am done with my part of the job at Harvard, but the organ will not be done until Easter. Have you seen this trailer? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrNKY0-HsQ4
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Love the saying. Have seen it on T-shirts without attribution. Thanks for providing the background info.
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I saw it among the sail cruising folks in Maine this summer, also without attribution, so I looked it up. I am usually so goal oriented that I need to be reminded of utility of wandering and the serendipity that can result.
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Over 40 years ago, as a freshman in high school, St Peter’s, Old English Beowulf (or the teaching of it) was the single element which drove me from literature and the arts in general. It built a wall. Yes, I listened to a song or two. I watched my children in school plays and went to what is now Bill Haney’s Music Theater for Scrooge, but I had no idea what a Hobbit was, though I knew If it had wheels or tracks I was probably licensed to drive one. It wasn’t until the Photography posted on Good Morning Gloucester, and even the Mug-ups on Rocky Neck, that I have been introduced to the fact that there is a fire to be stoked in everyone. There, my one sensitive feeling for the day is spent. I’ve been hoarding “good feelings” as I’m to be a first time grandfather in November. I want to spend them all then.
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