Hey Viper

[Smiley]

Sandy tells me you have a photographic memory. I also want to know how'd you remember so much stuff about Star Trek and Star Wars. While we at it was the Revenge of Khan the best episode and movie in the whole series. Thanks for your insight.

[Viper]

Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan. We must start at the beginning, Star Trek I - The Motion Picture.

During the summer of 1981, I was eleven years old, Toughskin Jeans, white tee shirt, running sneakers, clean tube socks and always, always wearing a belt. One time I tried to leave the house without a belt and Dad's look put the fear of God into me. Never wear a pair of slacks without a belt, ever. The US Marine Corps told Dad so and he commanded The Laws according to Marine Corps verse.

My Dad was tired of his oldest son, all of eleven years of age, loafing around, riding his candyapple red Schwinn Collegiate Sport around town, fishing for snapper or flounder off the bridge and drinking Sunkist soda while playing Pac Man at the LPS (local pizza shop).

That summer brought change. Mom and Dad came home and handed me a pale blue tee shirt. I looked at it, Camp Alvernia it read. Camp? Huh? "Yes son, you're going to camp, getting some structure this summer. No more loafing around on the skateboard or the bike" said Dad before they walked away.

The following Monday, 6am, I was up and ready to go to day camp. Mom sold me on the notion, "It's an athletic camp, running, baseball, soccer, swimming" she said as I exited her car and walked into camp. I decided I'd attend this camp and win first place in every event, since Mom said it was athletic competiton, game on.

Being a day-camper and not a full-time, overnighter, you're looked upon differently. I had no friends, didn't know a soul there. It didn't matter, the dude to my left was second place and the dude to my right was third place, how soon would I have to wait for competition?

The first day was hello, how are you, who are you, tell us about you, blah blah. It became fun and for me the most fun was lunch. Back home, lunch was very structured, here I could drink a gallon of chocolate milk and I did. I put some weight on and could feel myself getting stronger. I made enemies on the field, things did get competitive in the events, but I didn't care. I wasn't there to win second place and the chocolate milk was great. I can't remember if girls were at this camp, I look back and wonder, because I later met girls who did attend the camp. I must've been so focused on the sports, I didn't notice the girls. Maybe I can't blame myself, I was only eleven and hitting a homerun on a ballfield mattered more than getting to first base with some girl.

A few weeks passed and one camp morning, it was raining badly, what happens? I've never been at a camp when it's rained out. The Brothers who ran the camp organized a field trip, maybe two hundred kids were put on buses and we headed to the local library. I asked around, but nobody knew where we were going or what we were doing.

They moved us into a very large room with a movie screen, I sat down in the front. I think they handed out popcorn, which I don't care for, so I sat and the loud reel of the projector began turning. Immediately I knew the soundtrack, I can name that song and movie in one note; we were there to watch Star Trek - The Motion Picture.

The movie had been released in 1979, I wanted to see it, but never did. It's difficult as a nine year old to lobby the family to go see some space movie. Two years later, there I was, with a few hundred kids, following The Enterprise as it encountered V'GER.

The movie seemed really long, the room was extremely humid, but I couldn't blame the temperature or the lack of soda, I was sad to admit the movie stunk. It seemed all two hundred kids felt the same way. I was bummed.

The following summer, 1982, things changed again. Dad told me that summer, "It's time you get a job, work, do something." He gave me a lawnmower and a tank of gas, "Which you'll pay back, after you earn money" he concluded. I rode around on my skateboard, or Schwinn, cutting lawns for elderly neighbors around town. Ten dollars for your lawn, maybe fifteen if it was big and I bagged the clippings too. I made a lot of money that summer, I was flush when it came time for pizza money, new German bearings for my skateboard, Pac Man, Defender, Gorf, rollerskating rink fees, Star Wars or Battlestar Galactica toys.

That same summer of 1982 redemption beamed down, Star Trek returned with a new big screen movie, The Wrath of Khan. I was taking swimming lessons that summer, preparing to be a lifeguard and one of the lifeguards was a cool dude, so I begged him to take me to the movie. After a few weeks he took me and his two nerdy, geek friends to see a matinee.

Wow. From the first few minutes of the movie you could tell they fixed this thing, this Star Trek movie-thing. I knew the movie was a sequel to an original episode, which I watched many times, Space Seed with Ricardo Montalban. Revenge was a game about to be played by Kahn and it ended with the loss and sacrifice of Spock. The movie was an amazing comeback, it overcame the lame flop of the prior movie. It also ended on the saddest note, Kirk in tears, Spock's casket hurled into space as bagpipes played Amazing Grace. Still, there was hope, Spock was heading for the planet Genesis, could he begin again?

"The needs of many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one" said Spock. So true. I read the eulogy for my best friend who was killed six years ago, December 12, 2002 and while I did not speak of Kirk, or Spock, I told stories of my friend, my comrade, a soul that loved life, did not want to leave, but a man who had deep faith combined with a keen curiosity of the moon, the stars, space and the heavens above. I concluded with the simple prayer, "In the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit" and offered my thoughts: This tiny prayer, so small in content, is the backbone of our faith; that which is handed down from our Father, our Dad, our Mom is carried on and does not end, like one's stare or gaze upwards, into the heavens above.

I have Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan on dvd and watch it several times a year, especially in the winter when there's time. You are welcome to borrow it. Live long and prosper.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoVorJHfUco&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdIv3WWJLjs&feature=related

[Smiley]

AMAZING Sir Viper, its true everything Sandy said about you. A true Trekkie and what a freaking mind recall. Thanks for sharing.

[Steve in SLO]

Great tale, Viper, and truly well-written. That being said, I just gotta say:

"Paging Mr Khan, paging Mr Khan: Linda Evans wants her hair back."

[73Camaro_Dude]

Although in my neck of the woods you were either a Star Wars fan OR a Star Trek fan... not both. The nerds of nerds liked Star Trek... or my father, who forced me to watch. As a child, I remember wanting a batman, but got a captain kirk, complete with light blue phaser and a little communicator that was almost instantly lost.

I will say that I also got spock, AND Scotty, but then also the neighbor's dog got scotty...so... I found the carcass in the sandbox. It was a sad day, but spock and his blue shirt and pointy ears found solace in the fact that it was not his time to pass.

Anyway.... I was a star wars guy, and had the blondest of blonde hair, so I always had to play luke, although I really wanted to play Han Solo. We had a hefty friend Matt... I feel bad NOW, but he always had to play Chewbacca. Sam and Matt from down at the end of the road had the stormtrooper gun AND Han Solo's pistol... I was RIDICULOUSLY jealous... because all I had was a blue Zebra disc shooting gun.

I saw Star Wars at a drive in theater. If I stayed up on Saturday nites with dad, we watched Star Trek, which was followed by the Three Stooges at 12:30am. We ate popcorn and drank coke. But I was a realist. The whole transporter room thing and trying to conceptualize being vaporized and reconstructed just didnt work for me. I felt more comfort in the searing cutting edge of a lightsaber, the battle of good and bad, and hitting my friends with a plastic wiffle ball bat with electrical tape on the handle.

I tried desperately to force things, but it really never came to fruition. Maybe I wasnt a jedi.

[William]

Although in my neck of the woods you were either a Star Wars fan OR a Star Trek fan... not both. The nerds of nerds liked Star Trek... or my father, who forced me to watch. As a child, I remember wanting a batman, but got a captain kirk, complete with light blue phaser and a little communicator that was almost instantly lost.

I will say that I also got spock, AND Scotty, but then also the neighbor's dog got scotty...so... I found the carcass in the sandbox. It was a sad day, but spock and his blue shirt and pointy ears found solace in the fact that it was not his time to pass.

Anyway.... I was a star wars guy, and had the blondest of blonde hair, so I always had to play luke, although I really wanted to play Han Solo. We had a hefty friend Matt... I feel bad NOW, but he always had to play Chewbacca. Sam and Matt from down at the end of the road had the stormtrooper gun AND Han Solo's pistol... I was RIDICULOUSLY jealous... because all I had was a blue Zebra disc shooting gun.

I saw Star Wars at a drive in theater. If I stayed up on Saturday nites with dad, we watched Star Trek, which was followed by the Three Stooges at 12:30am. We ate popcorn and drank coke. But I was a realist. The whole transporter room thing and trying to conceptualize being vaporized and reconstructed just didnt work for me. I felt more comfort in the searing cutting edge of a lightsaber, the battle of good and bad, and hitting my friends with a plastic wiffle ball bat with electrical tape on the handle.

I tried desperately to force things, but it really never came to fruition. Maybe I wasnt a jedi.

You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll kiss thr......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7p96aiE32k



William :beer: