No, I'm not THE Doctor

Occasionally I’ll have people ask me if I’m the Doctor. Well, I do have two Doctorate Degrees, one in Anthropology as well as History, as all Temporal Anthropologists do. No, no, they say, THE Doctor. As they talk it finally dawns on me they are talking about that character in that Doctor Who show.

Please, asking a Licensed Time Traveler if they are the Doctor is like asking an Archaeologist if they are Indiana Jones! They both give a distorted view of the professions. I mean Indiana Jones was a fortune hunter compared to those dedicated real Archeologists who spend hours in the sun on their knees painstakingly digging with a hand trowel. Temporal Anthropology isn’t that back breaking, but we do spend hours just researching, tracking down artifacts, and recording life in the past. Most outside of the discipline would find it rather dull. Like Archaeology it’s what we finally discover that is exciting.

I’m afraid Temporal Anthropologists, or any other Licensed Time Travelers, don’t go gallivanting through time wherever we please. We need permission from the Institute of Time Travel and we have to stick with the period we have been trained to blend in with. We have to dress in period costumes instead of those eccentric outfits the Doctor always wore. We can’t go getting involved in other peoples lives.

And as for saving the Earth from invaders, well, as you know, humans are the scariest thing we have come across in the universe so far. Oh true, there are some nasty creatures out there, but they are all non-sentient and as long as we stay off their planets, they are no threat to us. Since Doctor Who dates back before time travel or alien contact, it really has no basis in fact.

All right, I will admit I was a fan of the show when I was a kid growing up in the late 26th century. I remember waiting eagerly for the next adventure of the 99th Doctor played by actor Adolphus Fairchild. I even had a poster of him on my wall leaned against that Blue Police Box and wearing that orange bowler, green bowtie and yellow lab coat he always wore. I actually met him some years ago. He was much older, of course, but he still had those mischievous eyes and infectious grin. I was shocked to find out he was into Victorian History and was in fact a big fan of mine! Temporal Anthropologists are hardly the celebrities that famous entertainers are, but we have a small following. I have a photo of the two of us together, and he looks more excited than me. (Of course, everyone tends to look more excited than me.)

So, no I am not the Doctor. And if they based any of the Doctors on me or my life I fear the show would get cancelled rather quickly. No Time Traveler has ever lived the free wheeling life like the Doctor. Well, there are rumours that Dr. Serendipity Brown, the lady that invented Time Travel did as she pleased. There were no rules at the time and she had the money and genius to do as she liked. Rather mysterious figure but legend says she liked to attend famous 20th century Rock concerts.

One story says Dr. Brown went back in time just to pickup a long defunct brew called Rainer Beer for one of her companions. It’s said he was actually from the 20th century. She also ran around with a historian from the 19th. Both of these men are even more mysterious than her.

To be honest, if I had the choice I would rather travel with Serendipity than the Doctor. I mean, she’s real…and she’s a woman…quite the woman!

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