Farewell to Leonard Nimoy

Yes, I've been neglecting the blog.  And yes, everyone else in the world has posted their own personal remembrances of the great Leonard Nimoy.

So if you're burnt out on Nimoy nostalgia, feel free to skip this post and wait for the next one.  I promise it won't be as tardy as this one.

THE THREE FACES OF NIMOY

1.  Of course, there's Nimoy's role as Mr. Spock.  The photo at the top of this post was taken at the Trek convention in Las Vegas several years ago.  We had the incredible pleasure of attending a presentation by both Nimoy and William Shatner onstage at once.  What a memory.

On another note, I thought I'd bring up some Spock information that might not be so widely known.  At least, I know that I was surprised when I read it.  I tend to think of fan-fiction as a fairly recent phenomenon, but according to the 1975 book, Star Trek Lives!, fan fiction, complete with 'shipping, was quite a lively product of the Star Trek television series.  In fact, the fan-driven fantasies about the Trek characters were so spicy that they resulted in the Star Trek fanzine running a full centerfold of Mr. Spock, complete with all that is implied by that statement.  Wow.  'Nuff said.

2.  Secondly, Leonard Nimoy was a great role model in the Jewish community.  Of course, it's no secret that the Vulcan hand sign is something that he developed from memories of the Kohanim priestly blessing.  And he's also talked about the Jewish values inherent in the Star Trek mythos, as well.  Beyond the connections between ST and Judaism, Nimoy was active in a wide range of issues, from promoting the feminine in the Jewish tradition, to working against the claims of Holocaust deniers, to advocating a more 'big-tent' concept of Judaism.

3.  And finally, he was a fellow resident of the Sierra Nevada.  So many interviews and press items about Leonard Nimoy note his Los Angeles home, but up until very recently, he had a home here in the Reno-Tahoe area as well, and we were very proud to count him as one of our neighbors.  In 2005, he performed in the Lake Tahoe Music Festival, narrating Garrison Keller’s "Young Lutheran’s Guide to the Orchestra."  And when my daughter spoke with him at the 2009 Trek convention, he asked where she was from, and when she told him, "Reno," he replied, "Oh, I live there, too!"  

 So anyway, I hope that wherever he is, he gets a chance to see how much he meant to so many people. 

-rkr

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