A Dalek goes to Disney World

OK, this one is about a favorite TV show of mine, Doctor Who. I've mentioned the show before in these posts and thought I'd have a little fun with the characters, well, one specific character.  First, if you need to get to speed on the Doctor (the show has been around for 50 years) go here and brush up. It's been a BBC show since the early 60's and we got it in the USA in the late seventies over on public television, which is the main reason I still support public television.  Now if you have brushed up, or read enough of these posts to get the gist, allow me to introduce you to ....

a Dalek.  These are the creatures of pure evil that have become the Doctor's main enemy over the years of the show.  They want to rule everything and they don't care how they do it. They will deal and betray, kill all their allies and even each other when things get really out of hand.  But sometimes, you know even a Dalek likes to take it easy, get away from the universe destruction, and have some time to relax and have fun.  So since anything or anyone in Disney World can be a character from some show or movie, and the bad guys are always around the Dalek could transport himself in and no one would be the wiser.  The only problem being that this Dalek transported in at only four inches high....

ALERT!>>>ALERT!>>>I AM FOUR INCHES TALL!>>> (this is a Dalek talking, think of it as the rasping voice of a flatulent heavy smoker) >>>I AM SMALL!>>>REPAIR IS REQUIRED!>>>REPAIR IS REQUIRED!>>>OBEY!OBEY!

He'll go on like this for a while, so let's show him around.  (By the way, for either the bipolar or MS crowd out there, I will bet that there's a Dalek in your life).

WHAT IS THIS?>>> This is the entrance to DisneyWorld, Dalek. That's the train station.

MOVING TROOP TRANSPORT! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!>>>

No, Dalek, those are just peaceful humans and they are being taken from one attraction to another on the grounds.

I MUST SEE THE ATTRACTIONS! NOW!>>>

Okay, Okay, lucky you're so small the cops let you in when they searched my back pack.

THE DALEKS WILL DESTROY ALL RESISTANCE. RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!

No, that's someone else.  Now here you go..

WHAT IS THIS?>>>>

It's the Castle.  That's where the princesses and the Disney characters live.

WHO RULES HERE?>>>>

Well, there are some Evil Queens here and there, and they think they do.

I MUST MEET THE EVIL QUEEN! TOGETHER WE WILL RULE DISNEY WORLD!>>>

Uh, no. That is not going to happen. Here, let's take a walk. It's a bit warm and I could use a cool drink.

THIS DRINK IS TALLER THAN ME! DALEKS MUST NOT BE MADE SMALLER!>>>

Actually, that's not a tall. That's a Grande. Iced Mocha.

DALEKS CAN DO THEIR DUTY IN ICE OR HEAT! TELL THE BARISTA TO MAKE ME A VENTI! DALEKS MUST BE VENTI!>>>

OK, this is not going well. You are starting to attract onlookers.  

NO ONE CAN SAVE THEM FROM THE RULE OF THE DALEKS!>>>

You come with me.

WAIT! WHO IS THAT?>>>

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am C-3PO, protocol droid. This is R2-D2, astromech droid.  We are presently hosting Star Tours -"

SILENCE!>>>

"Well! Such nerve from a drab little robot like you.  You tell him, R2."

Boop a tweet booptweet weeeooooooooo!

SILENCE! >>> TAKE ME TO THE LEADER!>>>

YOU MUST BE JOKING!>>>DALEKS ARE NEVER FOOLED!>>>THIS IS DARTH GOOFY!

"Gawrsh, howdja figger that?"

WHO LEADS?>>> TAKE US TO THE LEADER!

Fine, Fine. There...

STATUES! OLDER HUMAN MALE NOT THE DOCTOR HOLDING THE HAND OF A TRANSFORMED RODENT!>>>

It's an idea, Dalek.  Yes, Walt Disney is no longer alive but he gave his people the idea of a place where families could come and have fun, and get away from the troubles, where anything you could imagine could happen.  The rodent is named Mickey Mouse.  Mr. Disney thought up Mickey and from there his empire grew.

DISNEY IS DAVROS! ORIGINATOR OF ALL DALEKS!

Well, kinda sorta, except he didn't destroy planets, etc. Just a little bit of Florida.  And other places around the world.  People flock to these parks.

DISNEY IS THE DAVROS OF EARTH!>>>WE MUST LEARN MORE!>>>OBEY!>>>

First you must learn the secret song.  Just follow me...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=KmBgJuS62Fc

The Dalek came home with us. He was completely defeated by puppets and songs.  All he does now is hum that it is a small world after all.  But I don't trust it.

It's like the negative people in your life, and you have a pretty good idea who they are, but you still stay in touch, still visit and then suddenly wham! Dalek Invasion!  They leave you for a "normal" person, or say they can not help you to the doctor, though that was a great dinner you made us last night.  The Daleks live in our own hearts and minds as well, and we must be careful to hear the sound of their tread and their demanding ways.  Only the way of openness and kindness (even if that means removing some Daleks from your life) can keep us living with hope. Hope! Obey! Kindness! Obey!

Thanks for reading. More soon.

October musings, Chester Arthur, and stuff like my birthday.

October has arrived and with it comes a government shutdown, baseball playoffs without the Mets again (but our first runner up, the Red Sox, are back in), my 57th birthday, therapy classes, and an MRI and all the time I need to put them all in the proper order of enthusiasm, considering that to make it a perfect month all we need is a colonoscopy, but my doctor told me we can save that for next year.  Guess you can't have everything.

I'd written this whole blog out in one of my note books, and what I saw there later this week was a lot of whining, so I scrapped it.  There is something to letting things rest a bit, and then reread it to see how bad it actually is, and it was, so let's go with a new version.

I never watched even one minute of Breaking Bad, but always had plenty of time for the folks stuck in the zombie apocalypse on the other channel.  Crystal meth versus active dead people.  A drug that can destroy lives versus lives that were destroyed by a plague, only the victims get back up and want to eat you.  Actually, not that much difference.  I never saw Walter White in the waiting room of the Social Services department where I worked, but I sure saw his customers. The Active Dead People.

Walter

Walking Dead's Milton

So I had a meeting with my neurologist last week, and if you consider that my co-pay is 15 dollars a visit, that means I pay one dollar a minute to touch my nose and his finger, walk in a straight line (not happening) and how many fingers is he holding up.  Entertaining as this is to me (and you), I am basically being told I look great and see you in six months, and I give him money to do that.  But I'm not great.  Friday I had a meeting with a local publisher about getting my book out when it is done.  Occasionally my brain would just shift into idle and I'd stop in the middle of a sentence.  The person I was speaking with was patient enough to wait it out, and we had a good talk.

It's like you are an old car, and you are taken to the mechanic, who looks around the front of the car and tells the owner its amazing the car is still going, but there's nothing he can do to make it any better except look at it.

Now on to Chester Alan Arthur.  Some of you may know that October 5 is Chester's birthday, and that each year at every presidential grave site a wreath is sent by the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to note the birthday of one of his predecessors'.  Chester is one of Mr. Obama's predecessors, number 21 out of 44.  Normally the wreath is placed before the gravesite by Marines or another of the Armed Services, there some speechifying, and military (gun) salute, and lots of photographs for the media.  This year, however, due to the shutdown, no Marines, but one citizen was kind enough to bring  a classic firearm and salute the man who was Commander in Chief from 1881-85.

Normally, it looks like this:

The book I am working is about his younger years living in and around my home town so I'm learning more and more about the dude.

Info	Chester Arthur	Tom Martin
Date Born	Oct 5, 1819	Oct 9, 1956
Year of Death	1886	So far so good
Age at Death	57	I will be 57 on 10/9/2013
Chronic Illness	Bright’s Disease	MS
Career	Politician, Government official	Career Civil Servant
Mustache	Yes	Yes
Lived in Lansingburgh, NY?	Yes	Yes

I am doing my best to not notice that Chet died when he was 57.  But that happens. You get to an age and what's the first thing you turn to? Obituaries, right.  Look at the ages.  Got passed that one! Whew! Whoa, 55 for her, poor thing.  Twenty years after the Civil War ended, the men of Chet's time were mourning the passage of their comrades in arms.  Chet even visited Ulysses S. Grant when the General was finishing his memoirs up near Saratoga, and in the summer of 1885, attended his funeral.

Arthur always had a bad rap when he was in the White House that he was nothing but a hack who sold the furniture, and partied the time away. Nothing of the kind.  He held the office in deep respect and carried himself well, making sure civil service reform was done, and keeping the United States on the world stage.  His party opted not to nominate him in 1884, but he took it in good stead and retired to a law practice and his family.  He knew he was quite ill, and he died the following year.

Chester's wife died a few months before the 1880 election, so Chester carried on alone, with the daughter acting as White House hostess.  I am grateful to still have my wife, my First Lady, with me.

No one will fire muskets over my grave (unless the undertaker has made a serious miscalculation) but I do hope these stories and others coming soon would entertain.  I am grateful to you for taking the time, and Hello Russia.  More soon. 5000 plus hits!