The First Time I Met Patrick Troughton, He Was Dead.

It was toward the end of the July 1987 issue of Starlog magazine. Its big feature was a celebration of the tenth anniversary of Star Wars, and on the last right page of the issue was a tribute to Patrick Troughton, someone who I then had never heard of. A British character actor born in 1920 who'd died that March, he was apparently best known to science fiction fans as the second person to play the enigmatic time-traveling Doctor, the lead character of Doctor Who. He's also the one whose interpretation of the Doctor is least-known. Apparently all the audio tracks of the episodes he's in from 1966 to 1969 – incidentally, that's also the time frame in which my father-in-law (Martha's dad) Robert served in the US Navy; he's returning from a Navy reunion in Washington D.C. late tonight – exist, but many of the episodes were recorded over or “wiped” by the BBC which produces Doctor Who in the pre-VCR era until 1978. So some may still be out there.

Just because the Second Doctor (he gets caps so you know we're referring to the Doctor) is the least known or least seen of the eleven in-continuity actors who've played the Doctor in terms of his adventures, it doesn't make him any less engaging. Obviously he's the first incarnation of the Doctor to appear after a previous Doctor's regeneration (though it was called a “renewal” the first time this happened), he's the first to use the sonic screwdriver, he's the first to be identified as a Time Lord, and later actors who played the Doctor – the Fifth, the Sixth, and the Tenth respectively, according to several interviews – cite this one as their favorite. Perhaps if I were a little bit more British … but anyway, I just finished reading a Second Doctor Adventure that sets the Doctor and his companions Jamie and Victoria in what's essentially a luxurious prison for General Kesar, a Julius Caesar-like opportunist who saw a civil war as the only way to save the Haddron Empire.

Only as you read the novel, Justin Richards' Dreams of Empire (ISBN 9781849905244), it's not that simple. Welcome to life. Now to get on with mine … it almost seems the Cub Scouts are dreaming of empire these days, now hear me out. I don't object to their advertising that boys can register at Longfellow this Thursday night to join a pack, but the way they advertised it – by having the boys in class were an armband home with the contact information – was a little farfetched, both Martha and I thought. I would hate for the Scouts to encourage social ostracism if you're NOT one of them; incidentally, I was a Scout for a year when I was not much older than Jeffrey and it did not work out for me. So today is day nine of Minot Public Schools being in session, and so far the kids seem to be doing very well. We've still got Breanna and Josceline with us this evening and tomorrow because school gets out early – one of six teacher in-service days for the year – they'll be going home.

 

We've got good routines going right now, especially regarding the dishes getting done and the laundry getting folded and put away, not so much because I hate doing those chores but because I hate doing them all the time. The kids have gotten to alternate doing the dishes after dinner for the whole day, and it's a thrill to see that – especially when Jeffrey showed Josceline who said she had NEVER done dishes before how to do them and making sure they don't go crazy with our Shaklee Hand Dish Wash Liquid Concentrate (just one or two drops will produce enough suds to fill your sink). If we as people, we as citizens, we as subjects must live in an empire – there's a faith argument to this too, trust me – let it be one that's built on righteousness, service, and love. The kids are getting good at making friends too, something I will admit I have been apprehensive about because my own ability in that area hasn't been up to snuff lately. I think.

This weekend, if the door of our refrigerator is any indication, ought to be quite a busy one! Even before Sunday at church, Saturday we're looking at Breakfast with the Boys where I will bring the kids with me even if all they do is sleep (not bloody likely; I'll feed them too) and then we have TWO birthday parties to get ready for. Sarah is going to her friend Addy's at Splashdown from 10 to 2, and Jeffrey is going to his classmate MacKay's at Planet Pizza from 2 to 4, and Friday at our Scandinavian Heritage Park they'll be showing Wreck-It Ralph outdoors starting at 8:30 that night, and I'll take the kids to that (but not Martha, for she has to work at McDonald's that night). And today is Martha's last day off from Trinity Health where she works as a courier; she's been off from there for the last week and a half so she could pick up the kids in the afternoon, which Sharon would be doing except she's on her way back from D.C. too. 

 

 

When I say run, RUN!

 

 

David