I have been a Trekkie for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid, I watched the original version of Star Trek, and I giggled gleefully at the antics of the tribbles, especially when they found a Klingon, who thought that he was disguised. Tribbles didn’t like Klingons, sort of in the way that Trinity doesn’t like other cats. At that time, all Klingons were male. I remember wondering where the girl Klingons were.
Of course, I digress. Maybe a little. I should tell you that I dreamed of being an astronaut, and watching Star Trek was a way of vicariously living my dreams. In my imagination, I could fly amongst the stars. I remember spending hours staring at the stars and wondering what lay beyond the sun and the moon. Was it scary? Was it wonderful? Would I find love on the far side of the moon?
So many questions, so few answers.
The original Star Trek did not last as long as a television series as its five year mission of exploration. When it was over, I had to move on to other forms of entertainment. Eventually, I found “Star Wars.” The battles were great and the romance was good, but my excitement was for the humor of C3PO and R2D2, I practiced beeping like R2D2, It was awesome.
Until…
There was an announcement of another Star Trek series. One with a captain that was middle aged, bald, and not as swashbuckling as Captain Kirk? What???? Say it ain’t so.
But it was. I started watching the show with my family. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it. Was it a remake? How could I like a remake? And wait!!! Who was that Lt. Worf??? A Klingon? I thought that Klingons were villains. Once again… and wait!!! Klingon opera???? This was getting more and more bizarre.
Which meant I couldn’t stop watching. This had become a high form of entertainment. Maybe Deanna Troi would read my mind. Maybe I could dump my eyeglasses and see through a hairband, like Geordi LaForge.
And then, it happened. The mad crush on a man who transformed himself from a bald, middle-aged captain of a starship to an openly vulnerable man who played the flute tenderly and who wasn’t afraid to open up his heart. The episode was called “The Inner Light.” At the beginning of the episode, Captain Picard became unconscious as the result of an energy beam from an alien probe. He could not be revived without risk of disorientation, amnesia, or other issues. Within 25 minutes, Captain Picard, who was known as an iron weaver and scientist Kamin. He lived on a planet that was at risk of becoming uninhabitable due to its sun turning supernova. Kamin analyzed the science behind this, but the people in the community did not accept his findings.
In the course of the episode, Captain Picard/Kamin lived 40 years. He fell in love, married, and had children. He watched the stars with his children. At first, he wondered how he could return to the Enterprise, but, as he grew older, he sat quietly with his children and watch the stars. Sometimes, he played the flute. He played a haunting melody that caused me to…. (weep).
Toward the end of his time on that planet (Kataan), Picard/Kamin realized that he couldn’t save the planet from the supernova. Few people believed him, and he had become very old. His time was limited. He had to accept the planet’s fate. His wife had passed away, and his heart was broken. The experience may have been an illusion, but his love for his wife and his family was very real. In fact, there was an element of reality in his love. His own son, Daniel Stewart, played the role of his son, Batai. The young lady who played Kamin’s daugher looked like him, but she was not related. The scenes between Kamin and his two children were so real and so beautiful. It was so wonderful to see Captain Picard as a dad.
Everything about the episode was incredible.
When the power of the probe ended, Captain Picard was a bit disoriented, wondering where he was and how all that had happened. It turned out that the probe was meant to transmit the story of the planet to someone in the future, so that planet that was lost to the supernova hundreds of years earlier would not be forgotten. The planet and the people would live on in Captain Picard. The flute was the only tangible thing that was in the probe, once it was opened. The sweet naming ceremony that was held for Captain Picard’s son stayed with me. I loved that ceremony.
I thought about the naming ceremony. What would it look like if Baby Bear had a naming ceremony? I chose to wait until Baby Bear went on a long journey with his parents. I guess you could call it a pilgrimage. After the pilgrimage, Baby Bear’s parents understood who their son was, and they gave him the name “Bearnacle.”
If it weren’t for Captain Picard/Kamin, Bearnacle may have never existed.
In another episode, Captain Picard fell in love with a beautiful stellar cartographer named Lt. Commander Nella Daren. She was a pianist who carried her roll up piano with her. The two of them played duets. One day, the crew was listening to the music when, all of a sudden, it ended.
The couple was kissing.
Oh, sigh! And double sigh.
I…. melted.
When the show went into rerun mode, I was able to watch those two episodes over and over again. They were so romantic. I never tired of them.
In 2020, when COVID-19 caused everything to shut down, I had a chance to fall in love with Patrick Stewart all over again. Every day, he read a Shakespeare sonnet on YouTube. I felt as if he were reading to me and only to me. Lots of other people felt that way, for sure. It was beyond wonderful. I remembered an episode when Captain Picard recited Shakespeare to Deanna Troi’s (annoying) mother, to free her from the Ferengi, a greedy species who had captured her. It was amazing. A Shakespearean actor reciting Shakespeare, not as himself, but as Captain Picard. He did it in character. It was awesome. When the mother was freed, she expressed her love to Captain Picard, but he shooed her off the bridge. It was an extremely funny moment. In fact, the whole scene was hilarious.
Patrick Stewart as an actor could do anything.
Yesterday, Patrick Stewart died, as a result of Alzheimer’s and Lewy Body dementia.
My heart is full of sadness and gratitude.
I never met him, but he enriched my life. I am a better story teller because of him.
Thank you, Patrick Stewart. My gratitude is limitless, as is my sadness.
Fly high, Patrick Stewart.
Patrick Stewart, presente.
