Driving Home at 6 am, December 30, 2020
I turn a corner slowly,
Watching out for deer.
My headlight catches
The speed limit sign,
Twenty-five, and I smile-----
I am alive!
It is the end of another year
And the rollcall of the famous dead
Tumbles through my brain
And I rejoice:
I am alive!
Snowflakes tumble slowly downward
Bound to gravity,
Bound to the earth,
And I rejoice:
Walking now toward my front door
As if I were in a snowglobe
Freshly shaken.
I finally have both Infrequent Flier and Avalanche of Bones finished to the point where I can let them go out into the world without me helecoptering over them. Please enjoy! Infrequent Flier is a collection of stories from my life and the lives of some of my fondest heroes, including one fictional one, Doctor Who. Avalanche of Bones is a shorter collection in terms of pages, with three sets of poems divided by a section of fictional and one of factual stories. I have spent a lifetime collecting these stories and reflections, intending to create many, many books but never quite having enough time for long projects. Instead, it occurred to me that each “book” would make an interesting “chapter” and perhaps a better way to tell the story. As always, I invite the reader to dig deeper into anything that sparks their interest. I have two mantras by which I choose to live: stay curious and, as The Doctor prescribes, “Above all, be kind.”
I love the holidays. Christmas is my favorite time of the year. The decorations, the anticipation, all those lights against the Dark, snow on the ground (just enough to be decorative, no shovelling required). The joy of giving, the excitement of receiving . . .
It begins with a slow rumble through October, then picks up steam from Halloween through Thanksgiving while our granddaughter happily changes the stick-ems on our windows. Then Advent comes, the real countdown begins, the tree goes up, the presents get wrapped and hidden until Christmas Eve. Then comes our traditional Christmas dinner, Chinese take-out from the Asian Buffet, and hours playing for all that new stuff while waiting for 7 pm. and, since 2005, the Doctor Who Christmas Special.
Chris Chibnall, newest showrunner for The Doctor, for whatever reason moved the Special to New Year's Day. That's okay, as long as it happens. In fact, with all the hope for the future we are investing into 2021, it seems fitting to start off with a new visit from the first female Doctor in the show's long and fabled history and her wonderful trio of companions including Graham, a man around my age who always gets it done.
But wait, there's more!
Few two word phrases in the English language, after “Doctor Who,” of course, elicit as much excitement in me as “Cap'n Jack.” This comes from learning about Calico Jack Rackham, fabled pirate captain and Anne Bonny's lover. I believe Captain Jack Sparrow of Disney fame was inspired by Calico Jack, even if the caricatrure was based on the mannerisms of Keith Richards and self-assurance of Pepe le Pew. Ultimately, though, it is Captain Jack Harkness, who first appeared in the initial season of the Doctor Who reboot, then was the lead character in Torchwood while making several visits to the Whoniverse, that brings me thrills. As played by John Barrowman, he is one of the outstanding characters of the 21st Century. Chris Chibnall cut his teeth as showrunner for Torchwood. He knows the irreverant, bi-sexual, impossible to kill Jack Harkness. And now, on New Year's Day, Jack is back!
Today is the third Sunday of Advent. Santa comes by in eleven days and Chinese food in twelve. Captain Jack shows up in 19, and I'm counting down.
