![Spock and Captain Kirk, pioneers of fiction and storytelling.](https://elizabethvantassel.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/b-3jofduyaarb32.jpg?w=300)
When I found out about Mr. Leonard Nimoy’s passing this week, I had to pause our series to say goodbye. Although we never met, his iconic scenes in the original Star Trek, and especially the recent Star Trek films, have left such a warm and lasting impression on me. I appreciate his contribution to pushing the boundaries of fiction and creating new avenues for expressing ideas.
Soon after I heard the news, I reached out to my father, a serious Trekkie, and had a nice conversation. It might not have seemed like anything earth-shattering, but somehow the Vulcan has always helped Dad and I to connect. You see, I grew up in an area where it rained for months every winter. And my father traveled extensively for work. So when I was in high school, I remember my dad grabbing my hand and saying, “Hey, let’s catch a movie.” And I recall many discussions about what was possible in life and the universe prompted by what we saw in these movies.
I’m grateful for those memories of bonding, since my father was gone so much and it gave us something fun to chat about. Those memories have helped me at key times, like I discussed recently in a Seekerville post (reference at bottom). And perhaps the attitude of an explorer has been helpful not only in facing danger and emergencies, but also in crafting new worlds of my own for my tween novels.
So Thank You, Mr. Nimoy, for your contribution to people’s dreams and sense of hope. For that I am truly grateful. You were a mentor and creator of new possibilities for many.
![Our family got to visit the original set of Star Trek soon after the fires.](https://elizabethvantassel.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/startrek.jpg?w=300)
I posted this on a recent Seekerville blog about taking right turns when difficult times come, and finding ways to bond as a family. You can read the posting here: http://seekerville.blogspot.com/search/label/Elizabeth%20Van%20Tassel.
Photo: courtesy of Star Trek.
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