Yes, I have been living under a rock.
So when the Kitsap Sun got an email from Fred Rabinovitz of Port
Orchard saying he and his son had built a TARDIS in their
garage, the newsworthiness of the announcement whizzed right past
me … defying the laws of space and time … much like the TARDIS
itself.
When I was asked to write about Rabinovitz’s TARDIS, I had no idea
how lucky I was. My first clue was photographer Meegan Reid, who
clawed the assignment away from Larry Steagall and who gushed with
excitement when we arrived at Rabinovitz’s garage.
Meegan is by nature pretty low key. I don’t think I’ve seen her
this worked up over anything … except maybe those whales in Dyes
Inlet. To myself, I’m like, “Nice blue box. But what’s the big
deal?”
To Whovians everywhere, I apologize for my ignorance.
The TARDIS, of course, is the time-space travel machine that
figures centrally in the long-running BBC television series “Dr.
Who.” From the outside, it appears an ordinary British police call
box. Inside … ah, that’s another story.
The Doctor in “Dr. Who” has had multiple incarnations since the
show launched in 1963 — each played by different actors, with
different (mostly female) sidekicks and villainous otherworldly
enemies.
I’m not going to say how many Doctors there have been for fear of
stepping into Whovian trivia quicksand. I do know the Doctor is an
alien Time Lord (apparently with two hearts) and a shape shifter …
unlike the TARDIS (for Time and Relative Dimension in Space), which
got stuck as a police call box early on in the series.
That’s not to say the TARDIS is a static prop.
Over the course of the series — both the “classic” earlier version
and the reincarnation that began in 2005 — the TARDIS has been so
much more than a vehicle through space and time. It (she?) has a
personality and oft independent will, as the Doctor does battle
over the millennia with various hordes of rubbery monsters. All of
this is served up with that dry British wit that seems to poke fun
at the show’s inherent hokiness.
What’s not to love?
Jordan Rabinovitz, 17, is the resident Whovian – reminiscent of the
11th Doctor in a natty vest and bow tie — proud as a hen on a new
clutch of eggs as he opens the door to the TARDIS.
Inside, Fred Rabinovitz, an engineer by trade, has done wonders
with a metal recycling bin, some holiday rope lights and a DJ’s
music mixing console he got off eBay. There’s even a
black-and-white television that displays a grainy image of the
hypnotizing introduction to the show.
Jordan pushes a button and the TARDIS emits a noise suggestive of
futuristic travel. His secret? A key scraped along a piano wire.
It’s thoroughly convincing. Take note, BBC.
The Rabinovitz TARDIS has had its own dramatic career, appearing in
the family’s extravagant Christmas light display and as a prop in a
video for a Spanish assignment.
Jordan is a relative newcomer to the fandom — which like the TARDIS
is bigger on the inside that it appears from the outside. He
started watching in December 2012.
“I had heard a little bit about it. I decided I may as well watch
the first episode (from the 2005 reboot), and it just got me
intrigued,” Jordan said. “Episode by episode, the emotional
attachment set in.”
By June he had his dad hard at work on the TARDIS.
“I would build it, and he would come out and say, ‘That’s not
right.’” Fred said. “I’d say, ‘It’s good enough.’ And he’d say,
‘No, it’s not.’”
“It’s a work in progress,” Fred said. “We’re always adding to
it.”
Jordan Rabinovitz has watched many of the Dr. Who episodes —
including those of the classics he can locate — and he can rattle
off trivia rapid fire. He even has a replica of the crazy-long
scarf worn by an earlier doctor and a sonic screwdriver.
Jordan, a senior at Crosspointe Christian Academy, often comes home
from a long day and closes himself in the TARDIS. Listening to the
take-off noise or music from the console, he is indeed
transported.
“It’s a getaway. It’s imaginative. It lets the creative juices
flow,” Jordan said. “I have achieved time travel, but only when I’m
in it.”
In case there was any question, let’s make one thing perfectly
clear: “I’m a huge fan, not obsessive,” Jordan said. “There’s a
line; you don’t cross it. Some have, and I’m sorry for them.”
As to the question, “Is it bigger on the inside?” Just wait ‘til
you see their next model.
Tag Archives: South Kitsap
Men at Work
Bethel Towing’s Ron Jake, Jon Schessler and Alex Lee worked together to pull an SUV off the beach Sunday. We posted the story, but I think the video shows how badly this could have gone. I left impressed by how the vehicle stayed upright the whole time. I expected breaking glass at least. All that precision for a vehicle that is essentially totaled. Impressive work.
Mountain Bikers Disappointed in Cancellation of Banner Stewardship Meeting
If you were planning to attend the meeting of the Banner Forest Stewardship Committee Meeting on Monday, scratch that item off your calendar.
The meeting has been canceled, said Lori Raymaker, park stewardship coordinator, because “we don’t have any updates.”
Work on trails was halted in May, to give the county time to assess whether some of the new trails built by mountain bikers should stay. The county also wanted to allow for a review of the Banner Forest master plan, drafted in 2002.
Since then stewardship meetings, held every other month, have been well attended by mountain bikers and others with an interest in the park.
South Kitsap Commissioner Charlotte Garrido is leading the formation a Banner Forest Watch Group to review the master plan. The 12 volunteer slots will be filled by people representing the range of interests of park users. These include environmental education, flora, forestry, hiking, biking, equestrian, neighbors, wildlife, wetlands, photography, land conservation and recreation. One member of the Kitsap County Parks and Recreation Advisory Board also will be part of the group.
Garrido on Friday said she’s been delayed in selecting from among the applicants, because the county’s board of commissioners has been conducting budget review meetings with each department for the past two weeks, commanding the board’s attention.
Garrido was a member of the group that drafted the original Banner Forest master plan, and uses the park frequently herself. She said it’s high time to revisit the master plan. It’s also important, she said, that the watch group represent the diverse interests of those who use the park.
The stewardship committee has been meeting and doing work on the park for the past nine years. Garrido appreciates the efforts of park stewards, many of whom are mountain bikers. But, she said, it’s important that work they do adheres to parks department standards for safety and fits with the overall vision for the park.
K.C. Butler, who enjoys trail running and mountain biking, is frustrated by the moratorium on work, including trail maintenance, at the park. Two work parties have been canceled in recent months.
Butler understands the master plan needs to be updated, and he knows some of the trails that have been built will not be permitted to stay. But he, and others, would like to be able to keep open the main trails that not only bikers but hikers and joggers use. Keeping “sight lines” open is important for everyone’s safety, he said.
“We’re not talking about creating anything new,” he said. “We just want to maintain what’s there.”
In Butler’s observation, the diverse users of the park get along well, most of the time. Others he’s talked to, besides mountain bikers, have expressed impatience with the moratorium.
“There’s kind of a huge community of trail users out there. They’re not all mountain bikers,” he said. “It’s kind of a close knit community out there.”
