Yesterday, I got up out of bed to discover that Leonard
Nimoy had passed away. The geek universe
has lost a bright star. This made me
ponder many things.
People who tolerate my sporadic posting habits and visit on
a regular basis (you are appreciated) know that I very rarely post things of a
personal nature. This post will contain
some very personal thoughts.
I have spent my night thinking of the people who have left
us. Gene Roddenberry, his wife Majel
Barrett Roddenberry, James Doohan, DeForest Kelley, Rick Biggs, Andreas
Katsulas, Jeff Conaway, Michael O’Hare and so many more, big time actors like
John Wayne, Rock Hudson, Clark Gable, Dean Martin, Gregory Peck, John Colicos,
Lorne Greene and now, Leonard Nimoy, my father, who passed beyond the rim in
late October and my mother who joined him in early January.
It occurred to me, early this morning that most of my
childhood heroes have left us. Yes, my
parents were heroes to me. There are few
heroes left from my childhood. Many of the
actors from the original Battlestar Galactica remain. William Shatner, George Takei, Nichelle
Nichols and Walter Koenig are all still around.
On the odd chance they ever see this; I give them thanks for making my
childhood a better world. For teaching
me that I should never give up, never surrender, that there is always a
way. These are lessons that I was able
to learn while spending an hour in front of a television watching Star Trek.
The death of one’s childhood is nothing to take
lightly. I believe that our inner child
fuels our imagination and our creativity.
It allows us to escape the doldrums of our so called adult lives and
lets us be free if only for a few moments.
As a person from an older generation, my heroes had class and
style. They were well dressed and well
spoken. They weren’t in a tabloid every
week and they didn’t act like trash.
They were role models that shaped a generation. I miss them.
No one today measures up.
I miss my childhood heroes and I weep for today’s generation
who will never know them. I think this
world would be a far better place if they had.
You did indeed live long and prosper Mr. Nimoy. In ways you may not have been aware of, you
touched the lives of so many. May your
lessons never be forgotten.
