What Would Spock Do?

Leonard Nimoy passed away yesterday and I am not ashamed to admit that I cried when I heard the news. 

I did not know Mr. Nimoy personally, I had never actually met him or was introduced to him and I was privileged to see him in person only once, at a Star Trek mini-convention in the early '90s.  Yet like Gene Roddenberry, DeForest Kelley and James Doohan before him, I felt that I had just lost a member of my family and his passing has left a hole in my heart.

I am also not ashamed to admit that for nearly 50 years, Star Trek has had a significant impact on my life.  Perhaps not to the same degree as for others; I have only been peripherally involved in ST fandom over the years, and not actively involved in close to 30 years.  But I cannot deny the influence that Star Trek in all of its incarnations has had on me.  In many ways, it has made me the person I am today.

I was only 9 years old when the TV show debuted in 1966 and I was introduced to it rather obliquely through my older, Indiana cousins who had come for a visit and babbled enthusiastically about this new science fiction show they were watching.  All I remember of the conversation is their description of this alien character with pointed ears.  I was probably a bit too young to completely understand everything but obviously it left a lasting impression on me.

A year later, while visiting a local department store with my parents, I happened to camp out in front of a TV in the electronics department.  The show currently playing had caught my eye and I was intrigued.  When I saw Mr. Spock, it suddenly dawned on me that I was watching the show my cousins where so thoroughly enamored of.  I was hooked on the spot.  When the show was moved to a 10:00 PM time slot in its 3rd and final season, I was fortunate that it was airing on Friday nights and my parents were tolerant enough to let me stay up past my bedtime to watch it, even though neither of them could fathom my fascination in the series.

When Star Trek found new life through syndication in the early 1970s, I watched the original series endlessly in re-runs and spent afternoons at my family's summer cottage drawing the supporting characters of each episode.  I spent my weekly allowance in Waldenbooks stores, devouring the James Blish episode anthologies and later, the animated series collections by Alan Dean Foster.  In fact, I was probably one of the few people who actually loved "Star Trek: The Animated Series".  I wrote letters to NASA, entreating them to name the first space shuttle after the starship, Enterprise.

I first dipped my toe into fandom by attending a local mini-con starring Walter Koenig (Ensign Pavel Chekov) and really took the plunge by attending Bi-Centennial 10, one of the last "monster cons" in NYC in honor of Star Trek's 10th anniversary.  There were more than 22,000 fans in attendance over 4 days.  (If you have never attended a Star Trek convention (or any fandom convention for that matter) and want an idea of what it's like then watch "Galaxy Quest".  Yeah, sometimes it's exactly like that...)

That same year, I was fortunate to see Gene Roddenberry himself when he visited my college as part of a traveling lecture series on Star Trek and the burgeoning phenomenon of its growing popularity.  I cheered when "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" was released and was thrilled when things really started to take off.

Throughout the years, I can honestly say I have loved Star Trek in all its many incarnations (yes, even the recent theatrical "reboots").  Obviously some incarnations are better than others, some still have the capacity to make me wince in pain while others make my heart soar to such a degree I could burst.  But whether through books, fan fiction and fan art, movies, TV series, graphic novels or cartoons, I have been and still remain a Trekkie and am proud of it.

Star Trek has shaped my thinking, uplifted my spirits, and inspired me.  It has given me hope in humanity and our future, bolstered my confidence, fueled my imagination and dreams, and given me reasons to laugh and cry over the decades.  It has encouraged me to be more tolerant, to examine a problem or issue from all sides, to consider all perspectives, and broaden my horizons.  Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations.

No single character or person has influenced me in those aspects more than Mr. Spock and through him, Leonard Nimoy. 

As one of my Facebook friends said so succinctly yesterday, together Spock and Leonard have shown me that it is OK to be different and being weird and a bit of a geek is nothing to be ashamed of; that reason should temper and inform our emotions but both are equal parts of who we are and what makes us truly human.  As my friends and family are well aware, I am fond of saying that everything I learned about thinking logically, I owe to the Vulcan; when faced with a difficult problem I ask myself, "what would Spock do?"

So as I sit here, reflecting and grieving for a person I barely knew, I ask myself, what would Spock do in this situation?  I imagine Spock arching that eyebrow of his with a bemused expression and then solemnly offering the traditional Vulcan condolences, "I grieve with thee."  I imagine him saying that it is OK to grieve but it is not logical to allow oneself to be consumed by grief.  It is better to remember a life well lived and celebrate the gifts he gave others along the way.  Or as Dr. "Bones" McCoy said at the end of "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan"... "he's not really gone as long as we remember him."

But perhaps Leonard said it best himself through his final "tweet" before his passing,  “A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP”

Yes, we will remember you, Mr. Nimoy...always.  Thank you for all you have done and meant to me and millions of others like me.  Live Long And Prosper in the life to come.  God speed and God bless in the great adventure that awaits us all beyond death. You will be mourned and you will be missed, but you will never be forgotten. 

"Mene sakkhet Ur-Seveh"