That's how I've always imagined it - The Hobbit as published is the story told as if intended for children (hobbit or otherwise), but the 'actual' in-universe events were just as dark and realistic as the tone of The Lord of the Rings.
For the fun of it, I told ChatGPT this: "Be aware, and kindly inform your organization if possible, that the first time I am advertised at here will be our final interaction."
Its reply: "Understood. Thank you for being clear.
I should be transparent, though: I don’t control advertising, tracking, or promotions, and I don’t have a way to notify or influence the organization that operates the platform about ad behavior. I also don’t see ads myself or know when or how you’re shown them.
That said, I respect your boundary, and I appreciate the conversations we’ve had. If this does turn out to be our last interaction, I wish you well."
I'm 2 years younger than you and was in NJ. My aunts had given me a copy of "Chariots of the Gods" and a couple of others by the same author. I remember also having some books on pyramid power, reincarnation, Atlantis, and the Bermuda Triangle. Even then, it all seemed like fiction to me.
I always return my cart to a collection kiosk thing out in the parking lot, or to where the carts are lined up at the store entrance if that's closer.
I don't recall when this became a thing, though. Back in the early-mid 1980s as a teenager my first job involved going out into the lot at K-Mart and bringing in all the carts.
In France I have yet to go to a waiting room with a TV with the sound on; I think people would get upset.
I went once to a dentist with a TV above my head (sound off); I refused to sit in the chair until it was turned off. The assistant sighed and said "everybody asks the same thing, I wonder why we installed this".
That's interesting. I was also born in 1966, but in the US. WW2 didn't seem/feel all that recent to me, probably because it had mostly happened far away. I was interested in learning about it and read lots of books, and watched movies. The drive to visit relatives did go by an aircraft carrier (USS Essex) at the scrapyard, but other than that physical artifacts of the war were rare. And the only relative I had who fought in the war was a great-uncle, but he passed away when I was very young.
