No Matter How Enlightened Or Benevolent

he's become, freedom to do only what Doom allows is not freedom!" That's what Captain America says after meeting with Doctor Doom who's attained the godlike power of the Beyonder in Marvel Comics' FIRST series titled Secret Wars. It made more sense in today's title despite its being thirty years old. After having finishing Marvel's anthology of last year's series Secret Wars (ISBN 9780785198840) by Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic which begins with the end of all things, I admit it was more than I expected. Apparently the Beyonder who instigated the first Wars (and came to Earth to learn the nature of desire in the second installment three years later) was one of a race of such beings, and to save at least parts of existence -- in this case, parts of all the realities ever created and having appeared in Marvel Comics -- Doctor Doom, Molecule Man, and Doctor Strange win over the Beyonders and yet the choice of what gets saved and how gets left up to Doom.


Doctor Doom the Father, Molecule Man the Son, Doctor Strange the Holy Spirit.


Seriously, that's not meant to be sacrilegious, but in this new world "Battleworld" constructed to save at least part of what was, that's how they turn out to function. And for eight years between "the end" and the discovery of a life raft from Marvel's main existence containing heroes who remember what the world was like before Doom and will fight to get it back from what he's changed it into, that apple cart has not been upset. But now ... besides reading and gathering once again with my NaNoWriMo peeps for November (more on that as we progress), this weekend was filled with spaghetti for Sunday dinner, the opening of Sunday School and two services at Bethany -- though I'll admit interest in how it will proceed now that we're going off rotation that we've used for years -- and one of Sarah's friends staying the night Saturday and binge-watching (call it what it is) Make It or Break It. Oh, and a travel brochure to the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan has been made!


And Sarah's teacher Mrs. Perrin is MY age?


I digress. Friday night after work I met Martha, Sarah, and Jeffrey and the kids at work and we left for the wedding reception of my friends Trevor and Chelsea. They'd gotten married a few hours before at the Scandinavian Heritage Park and the highlight of that night -- besides having my family there with me, of course -- was when Trevor's great-aunt asked me if I was father of the bride. Chelsea's twenty-five, so I would have been a father at nineteen! (Kids, PLEASE don't be parents at nineteen.) And since it was a reception we ate well, and even grabbed some Dairy Queen afterwards. Saturday was the first Breakfast with the Boys of the season as well -- I had Sarah and Jeffrey with me and they ate well! As they usually just peck at food there, there were either really hungry or less picky; I've learned to pick my battles on that. All together sixteen of us for breakfast and nine at Bible study, boy I've missed it.


Undying love and unlimited patience are not the same thing, child. Do not confuse them.


Read that line in Secret Wars and I love it! After Breakfast I was out with the kids for a bit and then we hung out at the house until Martha arrived, and she asked me if I'd be willing to pick up fried chicken from Marketplace for dinner, and with Sarah I did so. After she had started working on part of her class project, a tourist brochure for Tenochtitlan (see above). Apparently one student in Mrs. Perrin's class will get to be the "tour guide" with a salary of 25,000 cacao beans a year. Since Martha admits social studies is my thing while I admit music is hers, I helped Sarah find information though she was responsible for presenting it, and she finished this morning. I hope I will find out tonight how it went! Sunday morning we had Family Sunday School so we helped put together backpacks to be shipped out by Lutheran World Relief and had a "scavenger hunt" to find the items we needed in each of the classrooms.


Scottie Sarah's friend was excited to be with us too.


And she came to our house in a roundabout way ... Scottie's mom Jennifer called us as we were finishing dinner and asked in Sarah was interested in spending the night there. Scottie and Sarah now being in different classes for the first time since kindergarten, they don't see each other as much as they used to. Jeffrey was invited over too (Scottie's got a younger brother, Mason) and Martha and I went back home. Shortly thereafter, we got a call that Jeffrey wanted to come home; he was sniffling, his eyes were watering, and a few hours later he threw up bad because of some overnight bug. But before that, Sarah called and asked to come home too, and while I was doing the dishes Martha asked me sotto voce if we could ask Scottie to spend the night at our house. From what I heard, she couldn't pack fast enough and with Jeffrey so blah everybody got to sleep downstairs that night. He was tucked in our room and I think he's found his new favorite spot downstairs.

At least, until he grows a few more inches.


David