Silly Doctor, Joy is for Kids

To My Youngers,

I've been thinking a lot lately about silliness and joy.

Don't get me wrong,  there are a great many things in this world to be serious about, but there is also a great deal of room for simple pleasures- laughter and smiling and general mirth (whistling in the dark...). Its in the little things: choosing neon leg warmers over beige ones; getting the giggles over a misquote (What you talkin' about Wallace?); naming your houseplants.... Most importantly, though, its in not being afraid to love the things that make you happy. 

I love Doctor Who.

I love the low-tech special effects, I love the optimism, I love the innovation, I love the silliness.

I love how excited the Doctor gets about life. About the little things in life. About the little things. Excited about things!

I love how loving Doctor Who can bring people together. I am not exaggerating here, I have made three (count 'em three) new friends in the last month almost completely based on a shared love of Doctor Who. Now I'm sure that you can find a bajillion sites on the internet where Doctor Who fans meet and discuss various things, but I'm just talking about in real, everyday, plain and simple life.  Not in any sort of Doctor Who situation (what would that even be?) just, y'know, doin' stuff, around... in normal life. And they're all awesome people, awesome in lots of non-specifically-Doctor-Who ways. Which got me thinking- if I don't like these people solely for their love of the show, why do I like people who like Doctor Who. If its like Nick Hornby suggests- that its not what we like, or what we're like, but how we like what we like, then maybe....

Maybe because they are proud of who they are, or because they understand the value of good storytelling... because they can fill in blanks with their ever-fertile imaginations, or because they appreciate the intricacies of time travel. Because they understand that, as Craig Kilbourne says, ‘Its all about the triumph of intellect and romance over brute force and cynicism .’ Maybe because they are capable of regularly suspending disbelief or because they enjoy witty dialogue, or maybe... maybe, most of all because they enjoy enjoying these things!

I guess I just love them for the same reasons I love the Doctor- because they understand that life is magical and silly and and amazing, and that you can still care about things without having to be serious all the time. 

Of course there are many other things I love, things I'm sure I will write about at some point in the future, but today, right now, its all about silly, its all about lovin' with all of your heart, its all about the Doctor.

-E