Am I the only one to notice that Randy Wayne White’s recurring character, Dr. Marion Ford, bears a slight resemblance to the classic Florida homeless character Travis McGee, created by John D. MacDonald and depicted throughout 21 novels? ? Or maybe it’s such an obvious observation that no one else thought it was worth the effort to mention. Regardless, we have two middle-aged men with military/covert ops experience in their early adult lives, athletic as a youth, able to handle themselves well in a fight, and somewhat obsessed with their routine to get back into shape once they spot the axes. beers start to outnumber push-ups.
Let’s take a look at the cohorts.
So many excellent creations of fiction have second fiddle to play, a trusty companion who vaguely orbits the same planet, albeit staying some distance away, who can be counted on to jump in and save the day from time to time. Where would Batman be without Robin? Ernie without Bert? Butch Cassidy without the Sundance Kid? Travis McGee was accompanied on his adventures by a stocky bull owned by a man named Meyer. An economist by trade, a fellow ship drifter by nature, Meyer was covered in a thick “black skin” of hair. On the other hand, Doc Ford’s partner was a scrawny, psychic, matching hippie named Tomlinson. If you judge a man by the company he keeps, I’m going to have to call it a draw in picking which man would prefer to have your back when you know what hits, you know where.
Women. You can’t really talk about Travis McGee or Doc Ford without mentioning the parade of female company in their lives. Each has loved and lost viciously, though Ford seems intent on leaving a trail of illegitimate children across the planet. So far, he has one in Central America and one in Iowa. In both cases, fate intervened, as so often in fiction, to thwart our hero’s best plans. He really wanted to marry the mother of each, but the former didn’t want it and the latter returned to his lesbian roots. Oh! It cannot be said that Travis McGee has fared much better. Although he is apparently more knowledgeable in the area of birth control, he loves and loses with equal abandon.
Physically, McGee is taller, and as a former college football player, he’s ready to take on the best. Ford was a high school wrestler and fights with a grim tenacity born of his psyche and military training as a “special” agent. What would happen if you threw them into the ring together and put a damsel in distress in the middle? Interesting question. One we let MacDonald and White fans figure out in their own minds. As for me, I’m going with Travis for a pinch in this contest.