Jack of Harts

I grew up reading The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion. In a paraphrase of C.S. Lewis, I saw shining knights and great heroes standing up to fight the bad things every child knows is out there. From the small but indomitable Hobbits to the great kings that rose to the time that required, to sad and shining elves whose time was fading. I loved them all. And then the movies came out and they found actors that played those characters so well. Brought them to life so well. In a pantheon of great actors who did the characters proud, Theoden shone bright. And now the man that brought him to life has passed into The West. Hail and Well Met, Theoden King. We will remember you always.

I grew up a Star Wars fan, watching the movies as a child. I even wore out a tape of Return of the Jedi I watched it so much. And of course I read the books when they came out, finding out about the continuing adventures of Luke Skywalker and the other heroes as they continued their long fight to defeat the Empire and build the New Republic into a functioning galactic power. And of course we celebrated Star Wars day every year. The Fourth of May. And so, in the ways of my people, May the Fourth Be With You.

The States that formed the New England Federation entered the Second Great Depression after having already removed most of the undesirables from their borders. Not to say they escaped the Depression and the other chaos unscathed, but they were more prepared for the chaos than most other places. And the Federation came out of the Depression richer and more powerful than most others. Federation clean reactors produced more energy than nearly any other nation, and Federation factories built most of the spaceships that carried America back to space, the Moon, and Mars and beyond. The Federation proclaimed itself A Better America for Better Americans and led America into the future as a space-faring nation.