OUTTA TIME

Sunday May 22, 2016

Today was all about time travel as Andrew and I attended the “Bridging Time” event at the Shoppes at River Ridge in Dublin. The event was a mixture of photo ops with celebrities and “time machines,” and a chance to educate the public about Dublin’s plans for a complete revitalization of the area around the river. Plans which include a new bridge and footpath, as well as upscale apartments/condos and new shops and restaurants are similar to what city planners did in downtown Columbus with the Scioto Mile. In fact, one of the activities at “Bridging Time” was to choose a name for the new area by the river. You could select from ten or so already proposed names or write in one of your own. Both Andrew and I, lacking any creativity, just picked from the list.

Since “Back to the Future” is one of my all-time favorite films, I did my own tribute to “Marty” by wearing the ivory sleeveless jacket I bought over spring break, a red and white striped shirt and zip-up hoodie, blue jeans, and white high tops. I dug out an old pair of headphones and plugged them in to a Walkman, donned a pair of Andrew’s sunglasses and my outfit was complete.

"Marty" and Harry Waters, Jr.

The marketers asked us to write something on one of the chalkboards that you “saw in the future.” Luckily I was able to come up with something rather quickly, so I scribbled, In the FUTURE I saw “the Cleveland Indians won the World Series.” If it was up to me I would rather not have had to hold up that board since I felt that distracted from my whole look, but I’m not one to disobey, especially in the interest of getting my photo taken in front of my favorite car of all time (sorry K.I.T.T., you’re a close second after the General Lee), alongside a celebrity from the film. Harry Waters, Jr. who played Marvin Berry, the one who rescued Marty after he was locked in the trunk (cutting his hand making it impossible for him to play the guitar, so Marty steps in for a solo thus creating the inspiration for Chuck Berry to later pen the song, “Johnny Be Goode.”). 

autograph from Harry Waters, Jr. and a photo from the movie

After that I opted to get my photo taken in front of the worst rendition I’ve ever seen of a Tardis. However, the actor playing the fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) was fairly convincing (though I have seen better at Ohaycon).

All in all, with the nice, warm sunshine and no long lines, I couldn’t have asked for a more fun morning out.

In the evening we watched the first installment of Stephen Hawking’s six part “Genius” series currently airing on PBS. According to wkar.org, “In the first episode “Can We Time Travel?” Stephen Hawking challenges three ordinary people to determine if time travel is possible. The fascinating journey of discovery features DeLoreans (3 to be precise), atomic clocks, a giant black hole and a large swath of New York City.”

We both very much enjoyed it, though I’m sure Andrew probably got annoyed by having to pause it every so often to further explain the various theories to me. In the end I think I just about got it. He said the error in my thinking was due to placing too much faith in the flawed science in my favorite sci-fi movies and television programs. Sorry “Star Trek,” “Dr. Who,” and “Flight of the Navigator” I guess your science just doesn’t hold up!

Have a good week everyone!