RIP Leonard Nimoy

Leonard Nimoy was in my life before I was even aware of it. He was just there on the television as episodes of Star Trek flickered before me in reruns as I grew up. My love of Star Trek was not a given. It happened slowly over the years. The TV shows were fun and I knew them, but it was when my dad started talking about the episode Space Seed and the upcoming film Star Trek 2 The Wrath of Kahn that I perked up and took notice. My dad was the one who read about the film and its connection to a single episode of the TV show. A sequel of sorts. After seeing Wrath of Kahn in the theater, that was the dividing line for me. Before that movie, I knew and enjoyed Star Trek—after seeing it, I was forevermore a Trekkie. Yes, I have even dressed up in costume and attended science fiction conventions. Thankfully I was still quite slim at that point.

Star Trek is an optimistic, forward-thinking, progressive, science fiction show created by the late Gene Roddenberry. It promoted tolerance, responsible human behavior, and above all, a never-ending quest for knowledge and exploration. What is not to love? The subsequent series and films evolved and matured as time went on, but most fans' true love has always been for the original TV show. Within the show there are many lovable characters. Spock, the green-blooded, half-human half-Vulcan was the bridge that tied humanity to the futures we can only still imagine. Spock was an interracial character with ties to another planet and was without question, everyone's favorite. His lack of emotion and his use of pure logic allowed the character to stand out and enlighten viewers to human prejudices in a way lectures and schooling could never even approach.

Leonard Nimoy was Spock and continued to play the iconic Vulcan right through the most recent Trek film. His death at the age of 83 leaves a massive hole in the hearts of fans worldwide. The echoes of Spock's on-screen death in Wrath of Kahn are sure to be on everyone's minds.

This time there is no genesis device to bring him back.

This time is the final goodbye.

I have been...and always shall be...your friend.