"We are assembled here today to pay final respects to our honored dead. And yet it should be noted, in the midst of our sorrow, this death takes place in the shadow of new life, the sunrise of a new world; a world that our beloved comrade gave his life to protect and nourish. He did not feel this sacrifice a vain or empty one, and we will not debate his profound wisdom at these proceedings. Of my friend, I can only say this: Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most... human."
I was fortunate enough 15 years ago to sit next to Leonard Nimoy on a 2 hour flight from Seattle to SFO. Giving no indication that I recognized him, I began a conversation. We chatted for about an hour about current theater on the West End in London, where I had been living and where he traveled every Christmas with his wife to see the shows.
As we were standing in the aisle at the end of the flight, I raised my hand in the Vulcan salute and said "Live long and prosper". No, actually I didn't, but I thought about doing so! In fact, I never told him that I recognized him, and I suspect he was happy to have a regular conversation as if he hadn't played one of the most important fictional characters in many people's lives.
But he did, and his portrayal of Spock was profoundly impactful to me, and I am now introducing the character to my young sons as well.
> But he did, and his portrayal of Spock was profoundly impactful to me, and I am now introducing the character to my young sons as well.
I don't know why, but it deeply saddens me to know that my children will only ever know him as a historical figure. I'm young enough that I've never known a world without Spock, and while I know Spock hasn't gone anywhere it's surprisingly hard to adjust to the idea of a world without Nimoy. He's always seemed, to me, such an amazing combination of larger-than-life and down-to-earth.
My father had a VHS collection of Star Trek that he had recorded off TV. I watched them over and over non-stop for years, every episode dozens of times. I still watch some Star Trek series nearly every day. As an incredibly introverted and nerdy kid, Spock gave me hope for the world and solace that things could be better.
One lucky day, when I was a teenager, Leonard Nimoy came over to my house. A mutual friend thought he would like to meet my father, a local artist, to have lunch and chat. I watched quietly as they talked and looked at art for hours.
Spending the day around him, and the few minutes I spent alone with him just chatting about nothing, was one of the highlights of my childhood.
I kept calm, but he knew I wasn't joking around when I asked him to sign the fine pencil drawing of myself as Kirk standing next to him as Spock, which I had received as a gift years prior.
I'm happy for him that he got 83 years and used them incredibly well. Choked up though.
Black Bar please, it would be a great show of respect to the calm, stoic logician that many of the people who read HN can either respect and/or would cite as an inspiration for our chosen career paths.
At many previous times, on days when important, influential or otherwise respected persons have died, the site turns the header bar (normally orange) black, as a mark of respect.
Actually, I studied philosophy in college, with a focus on logic. But it is hard to find work as a philosopher, so I took that logic training and now apply it to computer systems. So, back to my original point - Spock the character and Nimoy the man were inspirational in my choice of career paths.
My father of 77 years passed away last Sunday. My sister and I often called him Spock because he was a physicist and he looked like Spock. RIP my dad. RIP Leonard Nimoy. They both were the best Spocks.
"Hello. I'm Leonard Nimoy. The following tale of alien encounters is true. And by true, I mean false. It's all lies. But they're entertaining lies. And in the end, isn't that the real truth? The answer is: No." - "The Springfield Files", S8E10 , Simpsons.
Readit News
-Captain James T. Kirk
Star Trek: The Last Voyage of the Starship Enterprise - Saturday Night Live
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx0xOgFDXFg
:(
As we were standing in the aisle at the end of the flight, I raised my hand in the Vulcan salute and said "Live long and prosper". No, actually I didn't, but I thought about doing so! In fact, I never told him that I recognized him, and I suspect he was happy to have a regular conversation as if he hadn't played one of the most important fictional characters in many people's lives.
But he did, and his portrayal of Spock was profoundly impactful to me, and I am now introducing the character to my young sons as well.
I don't know why, but it deeply saddens me to know that my children will only ever know him as a historical figure. I'm young enough that I've never known a world without Spock, and while I know Spock hasn't gone anywhere it's surprisingly hard to adjust to the idea of a world without Nimoy. He's always seemed, to me, such an amazing combination of larger-than-life and down-to-earth.
One lucky day, when I was a teenager, Leonard Nimoy came over to my house. A mutual friend thought he would like to meet my father, a local artist, to have lunch and chat. I watched quietly as they talked and looked at art for hours.
Spending the day around him, and the few minutes I spent alone with him just chatting about nothing, was one of the highlights of my childhood.
I kept calm, but he knew I wasn't joking around when I asked him to sign the fine pencil drawing of myself as Kirk standing next to him as Spock, which I had received as a gift years prior.
I'm happy for him that he got 83 years and used them incredibly well. Choked up though.
How many of us were called "Spock" by bullies, but actually found comfort in knowing that Spock was six shades of badass?
After downvotes, I feel compelled to add: nor a logician!
"Hello. I'm Leonard Nimoy. The following tale of alien encounters is true. And by true, I mean false. It's all lies. But they're entertaining lies. And in the end, isn't that the real truth? The answer is: No." - "The Springfield Files", S8E10 , Simpsons.
Watching it for the first time made me immeasurably happy
Here's a fun video of him in a commercial with the "new" spock. Always love to stay positive when someone passes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UengULt6t7Q