NOVEMBER 5th - Don't Need Money, Don't Take Fame



Today’s post could have gone in a few different directions. I could have dropped a little “Remember, remember the Fifth of November” and regaled you with Guy Fawkes' Gunpowder Plot, subsequently pointing you to the awesomeness that is V for Vendetta. And that may have been the right the call considering there is actually a real-life historical connection there. But life isn’t just about right calls. Sometimes you gotta go with your gut. In that vein, November 5th, 1955 was the date that Marty McFly traveled back in time to in his DeLorean time-machine in Back to the Future Part I and Part II. I realize that this is the date of a fictional occurrence. I’ve mentioned before that late night PBS caught me up on the possibility of time-travel--mainly that going backwards would be impossible because of paradoxes--though that stuff is fun to think about. Of course, if it were possible, you wouldn’t know about it unless the Doc Brown who created it was running his mouth about it. And if that happened, I’d imagine the government would completely discredit him and throw him in a loony bin. But even if you take all the sci-fi-tech out, forget about the hoverboards (which are apparently close to being a thing), the 1.21 gigawatts, the flux-capacitor and all that stuff. Just focus on the fact that Back to the Future (and it’s two sequels) are some of the most delightful movies ever made. Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd? Brilliant. Crispin Glover? Still hasn't aged, but also brilliant. A DeLorean for time-machine? Awesome. Yes, there are issues that I’ve pointed out, like how does George not question Elaine when his second son turns out looking exactly like their friend back in high school. Ticky-tack. Who wouldn’t want to travel back and see their parents when they were teenagers? Or just see what a different time was like? Or introduce the world to Chuck Berry? Or realize that where they were going they didn’t need roads? So yes, I realize that November 5th, 1955 has little historical significance outside of the fictional universe in which Marty crashes his DeLorean into a barn, but I am one who firmly believe in the power of fiction. In my book, it’s right up there with the power of love.

This day has been Marked.

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