The astronauts are loading supplies into the vehicle that will leave the space station and go to Earth. I had fantasies about this kind of thing as a child. I suppose I should have dreamed about the day they cure all cancers, end poverty, stop making war, but those seemed too realistic (in all honest, thought we would have done it by now). But space travel to anywhere, and space stations in orbit, and filling out an application to be an astronaut?
For those of us who dream that humanity will not only survive but come out better in the long run, reality can be sobering. But looking back at history, we’ve made progress, at least in the modern world. We no longer burn witches at the stake, and there’s probably enough food for everyone if we can just overcome the governments and get it there when it’s needed. We can control reproduction, and we have antibiotics (at least we do for a little while longer). Small Pox is extinct. So are Guinea worms. But then, a lot of species have gone extinct for utterly stupid reasons; rhino horns and ivory come to mind.
I think now, what can be so astounding, is that we have The Internet, and people have the world’s knowledge at their fingertips, and ignore it. We went to the moon, and back. We’ve created and sent robots to all the other planets we share our sun with. If that can be done on the puny budget our world commits to science (oh, about 3% compared to 50% for the war machine), then imagine our future if the budgets were well balanced and people valued the science brought to us by space programs. See, now we’re back to dreaming about touching those stars!
Speaking of science fiction, I’ve spent the last few days attending the Star Trek Las Vegas 50th Anniversary Convention. It was a great convention put on by the Creation people, and it’s been a blast, well organized, lots of things going on. Five thousand tickets were sold out months before the event had even booked its final guest list. Leaving this afternoon it seemed as if I owed it to myself to go home and binge watch for a while.
This is an iconic show, Star Trek. It owes its longevity to fans, to writers, to actors, investors, marketers, and a whole host of people behind the scenes that made it come to life and keep it not just alive, but thriving. More than 700 episodes and movies later, it shows no sign of ending. From emojis to props, costumes to games, trading cards, posters, photos, books (oh, the books!), star maps, aliens, and of course, the USS Enterprise, in another 50 years I can only surmise that it will be bigger, with new aliens, more ships, and a bigger fan base that ever.
It’s part of Americana, integrated and woven into our culture. Even if you are not a fan, you’ve heard of Star Trek as surely as you’ve heard of Watergate, but with a significantly more positive reputation. Developed originally during the early space race years, no one had landed on the moon until after the show had run 3 years and been cancelled. Deemed too cerebral for the average audience, the original Star Trek franchise suffered from time slot changes and censors that actually refused to air some episodes in some parts of the country, resulting in lower ratings.
Star Trek pushed the boundaries of television, and after a successful write in campaign brought it a third season, it was left to the fans in syndication. Ten years later, a major motion picture stirred up the hearth fire for Star Trek, and despite the limited success of the movie, mostly due to a rush for release and lack of editing. And more movies followed. Soon another franchise was born, followed by three more, several more movies, and we are here, 50 years later, hoping that the message of future peace will one day be a reality, even if it appears traveling faster than light from star to star in a matter of days is not in our future.
The industry that flourishes because of Star Trek can’t be dismissed without examination. Costumes, set builders, writers, film crews, camera repair, catering businesses, musicians, and others, just locally near the studio and on location, all benefit from the advertising dollars which support television. After the fact, conventions, licensing, reruns, more advertising, station employees – the trickle down from this single show over fifty years is almost incalculable.
Some products we use today were inspired by Star Trek, including small communication devices, small computers, nano technology, medical advances of all kinds, doors that open as we approach them – the list goes on. No one can deny the impact of this single television show on our culture, and, as originally hoped, perhaps on the improvement of our civilization, and humanity.
As long time fan, I enjoy the conventions, if for nothing else but the people watching! Young, old, fit, disabled, all races and both genders attend with the single obsession over this television show. They arrive from all over the world to meet the people who make it come alive – writers, actors, producers, composers, photographers, artists, vendors of everything Trek. Stage appearances and guest panels take place all day long, photographs and autographs are a major part of the activities as well as trivia games, contests, game demonstrations, even cake baking and art exhibits. Props are available for fans to make self portraits from cyborg regeneration alcoves to time travel portals and the famous transporters that look cool even if you don’t really go anywhere.
Star Trek is science fiction at its best. Not simply what we call Space Opera, a grand production with lots of show and sparkle with a basic story underneath, but a new concept of space exploration that “seeks out new life and civilizations” similar to historic explorers of Earth; Columbus, Magellan, Lewis and Clark, and Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins. People who took risks for the sake of curiosity. In another fifty years, I can only hope that Star Trek is still going strong, boldly going where humans have never gone before.
Sorry I missed you yesterday! I am recovering from a very brief vacation off the west coast of California, on Santa Catalina Island, about 25 miles west of Los Angeles. It was hot, but nothing like Las Vegas, although I have to say, in Las Vegas, it’s a dry heat or no heat.
Avalon Harbor, Catalina Island, California
Star watching is pretty good if you can get away from the main city, Avalon, Catalina Island, which is home to about 4000 people, including formerly Zane Grey who wrote more than 100 novels selling more than 40 million copies. I can see how his imagination would have been inspired by the beautiful views, perfect weather, and isolation of an island, this island in particular. If you’ve never heard of it, think of Chicago Cubs, Wrigley Gum, and the Catalina Casino with world’s largest circular ballroom.
I tried snorkeling. Now mind you, I’ve done this before, 18 years ago, wearing a Personal Flotation Device, about 20 feet from the shore. I also can’t swim (not that anyone hasn’t tried to teach me). I will remind you, I am nothing like the fearless leader Captain Thomas Jackson of my novels. I am more like an anonymous stone that won’t even skip across a stream, immediately plunging into water and heading for the bottom never to be seen again. But I did try to be a good sport.
Garibaldi
A 20 foot outboard motor boat with a happy senior at the helm took my son, husband, and me a good four or five miles north from the beautiful Avalon harbor perhaps 1000 feet away from shore where the water was clear and the Garibaldi (California State Marine Fish) schooled with kelp beds and striped bass. There I sat, in my wet suit, flippers on my feet, and a snorkel and mask facing the bottomless ocean with no PDF. my husband (a fish, I swear it!) had been the first to leap, my son, 15, followed. They waited for me. It was sink or swim time.
And sink it was. Ha! They said my wet suit would help me float; not me, I am rock. I managed to tread water, briefly, but trying to do so while attaching the snorkeling stuff was, in one word, multitasking, something I’m not terribly efficient at. As soon as I put on the mask, I couldn’t see or breathe, which trumped the treading water business by 100 fold. Then, I’d sink. I was promptly rescued, but once I got the suffocation – blindness device on and could tread water, I realized I also had to become a mouth breather, not terribly different the from fauna I intended on observing on this little outing.
I saw one fish, got water in my snorkel, and I was done. I wanted out of that water and into the boat and I didn’t care how embarrassed I was. I could only think of being hospitalized with a another stroke (which just happened 8 weeks ago), my heart pulsing little sticky platelets into my brain at incredible speed and pressure as panic triggered an adrenaline boost. The snorkel and mask went into the boat, then the mermaid flippers, then someone pushed and someone pulled and I flopped into the boat like a giant tuna.
Sea Turtle
I didn’t leave the boat again until we docked. in the meantime, my son and husband saw not only huge schools of striped bass and vivid orange Garibaldi, but, of all things, a sea turtle as big as a bed pillow.
These particular creatures are not native to the area, and this individual had probably come in with the most recent storm off the coast of Mexico. Yes, a living, swimming, gentle sea turtle. I did see its head when it came up for air. Yippee.
Outside of this near death experience, our little vacation rolled peaceably along until we arrived back on the mainland. I always enjoy the big catamaran that sails us out there and back at 30 knots per hour and serves snacks and drinks, also without internet service so the kids must put down their phones for about 30 minutes. This was fine. But the car had no intention of leaving the parking garage. Just a fluke, no marine pun intended, the battery decided to quit. Just quit, no warning, no rrr rrr rrr trying to turn over, just “nope, sorry, not taking you anywhere tonight.”
AAA came to the rescue, and I must say they were top notch, keeping us posted via text and getting a tech out to us in 28 minutes flat. I crashed into bed last night without so much as changing my clothes. Been visiting the family all day, and heading home just in time to prepare for the Star Trek Convention coming to Las Vegas on Wednesday. Now this is where I boldly go.
The Fabulous Five Star Trek Captions of Television
There are excellent stories and feelings and emotions to draw upon to entertain readers, as Zane Grey, and myself, can attest to on this lovely island. If you have the opportunity, when in Los Angeles or a little south of there in Long Beach, visit the Queen Mary, and spend a day or two on Catalina Island. I’m sure you’ll remember something worth writing about!
