It’s always a little painful when pieces of your past begin to slip away, particularly when they had a big impact on your life. Every actor or singer that was big when I was in my teens who passes on is a little slice of that formative time, a little piece that shaped my youth.  It seems like more and more of them are happening now, almost like a meteor shower of them passing.

Yesterday, a huge chunk of my whole life passed on. I was a teenager when I fell in love with the Vulcan on Star Trek. I read fantasy and science fiction, but the series was the best thing to hit television for me. I became a Trekkie (we were Trekkies then and I am still a proud Trekkie!) – lock, stock and barrel! I campaigned to keep Star Trek on TV. I had a brief correspondence with Gene Roddenberry in the hopes of getting into television writing. I joined Star Base 36 when I moved to Reno where I made lasting friends and we worked then to encourage the first movie be made. I never ceased to support this amazing show and the actors in it. I was never the “too crazy” fan who went into the costume contests and wore alien makeup, although I did wear a hall costume now and then. But I knew a lot of the people who did really get into the costuming and what is now called cosplay.

When I was 19 or 20, I had two particular racing greyhounds, a pair of handsome black beauties named RA’s Star Trek and RA’s Moonraker. One evening the Juarez race track had a special event and Leonard Nimoy was the guest of honor. Both of my dogs were entered in races and I was thrilled to be at the track, even if the dogs weren’t likely to win, and didn’t. But I recall meeting Mr. Nimoy. He was tall, with almost jet black hair and he stood out like a beacon in the crowd of people at the track.   I had a chance to introduce myself and he was charmingly polite as I babbled about how much I enjoyed the Spock character and the whole series. It was a brief, but memorable meeting. Mostly, I simply recalled how dynamic and charismatic he was. How when you saw him, you were instantly drawn to him. He remained a favorite all my life and it was always a joy to see him in a show.

Leonard Nimoy was an icon. He represented so much to a young person who saw a brave new future ahead and one in which there was huge promise. His portrayal of Spock gave us hope for one day finding a friendly presence in the cosmos and Star Trek itself gave us hope that people would one day work together as citizens of Earth and not as the separate nations that still war against each other. That dream is not yet realized as Nimoy left this world yesterday, but the little seed that was planted may yet come to fruition, although not in my lifetime or maybe even in the next few generations, but the dream is not dead.

I trust that, in whatever realm awaits us beyond this one, Leonard’s spirit is reuniting with Dee Kelley, Gene Roddenberry and Jimmy Doohan for some great stories at a smashing galactic pub.