Well THAT didn't go as planned...

So there I was waiting for the train to get into the city for the SFWA Holiday Party. I had it all planned out when a voice over the loudspeaker informed us of equipment problems on the tracks. I waited to see if the problem could be solved but the ticking clock told me that this was getting absurd. I was going to spend more time on the train than I could at the party.

So I went home and then to bowling where we did better because I was there. And the twitch in my sinuses during into a full blown seriously painful headache. Still have the vestiges of it this morning. I would have been very miserable at the party and even more so on the train. There seems to be a cosmic reason I didn’t get on a train.

Today is getting ready for Thursday. I am going to venture into the store and get the supplies we need for a family dinner on Thanksgiving. I know what everyone likes so I am planning accordingly. The division of labor is that Peter does the Turkey, Ariel and Caroline make the dessert, and I do all the sides.

There is also the cleaning of the dining room to be done. And various other things that we try to do before the holiday.

What we are NOT going to do is shop the day after Thanksgiving. I plan to hole up in the house and do other things. The malls are already crazy with the pre-holiday doorbusters and I am almost afraid that someone is going to get hurt on Friday trying to get that cheap Flat Screen TV or Nintendo system.

The Weather is encouraging me to do things outside today. The problem is that I can’t rake leaves like I usual do since they are repaving in front of our house as I type this. So maybe I’ll put up the Holiday lights for all to see.

I am grateful for pleasant weather right before a holiday.

Happy Anniversary to Doctor Who!

47 years ago we first saw a show that changed the lives of many. Not that anyone knew it at the time. It was slated to be an educational show taking some teachers through time and space to show different historical dramas. Well that got thrown out the window in the fifth episode when they went to a distant planet and met the Daleks.

Thus began the saga of Doctor Who which became bigger than anyone probably thought it was going to be. Many actors proudly tell their fellow thespians that they were on or are going to be on Doctor Who. It is a badge of honor among them. Entire careers have been launched from the writers’ room. There were conventions dedicated to the show even when it was on “hiatus”.

Personally I have made many friends over the years because of my love for Doctor Who. I have been part of the fandom since the late 1970s. I have enjoyed watching episodes with friends that are still friends. I belonged to the Terminus TARDIS and the PMEB.

I have made puppets based on the characters and given puppets of themselves to the actors of the characters. I get two reactions on that one. It depends on how they view puppets. A couple of years ago I met Peter Davison at DragonCon. I introduced myself as the maker of the puppet that a friend had passed for me. He told me that he loved it and was proud to own it. Then he said something that I will always remember. He said, “Tell me that you are still making puppets.” I assured him that I was and he said, “Good. Talent like yours should not go to waste.”

I remember when I saw the reboot. It was thanks to a buddy of ours who had a copy on his hard drive. I was amazed and wanted to see more. The Doctor was back and it was magnificent. Since then I have met more fans and gotten to write a Doctor Who short story that saw publication in a Big Finish Anthology. So I am now a published Dr. Who writer among my many other accomplishments.

So Happy Anniversary to Doctor Who! Long may you air!

I think I am going to watch Unearthly Child now.

I am grateful that Doctor Who became what it has.