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August 30, 2004
A Fan Remembers
This article reminded me of something I'd wanted to talk about here... Go read it first, then come back...
When they say Doohan was something special and went out of his way for the fans, I can only agree.
It happened several years ago, before I could drive, and since I just turned 39 last weekend, that means something nearly 2/3rds of my life in the past. A friend and I had managed to convince our parents to allow us to attend an evening Star Trek fan gathering at nearby Northern Kentucky University. It wasn't anything big, really. They showed the Blooper Reel on a movie screen, showed us an episode (I'm pretty sure it was Trouble with Tribbles), then James Doohan stepped out to talk for a bit and answer questions. Something I'm sure he's done hundreds of times, before and since.
Afterwards, my friend and I waited in the foyer for our ride, which didn't arrive. It was about 20 minutes after the event ended, and still no sign of my step-father for our ride home. It was then that James Doohan stepped out, ready to head to his hotel room. But he saw two teenaged boys standing over by the exit and decided to make sure nothing was wrong. That's how it happened that, for the next fifteen minutes or so until our ride arrived, Scotty entertained two star-struck fans rather than leave us to get into trouble on our own. It didn't add a penny to what he was paid for the evening and it didn't save our lives or anything (neither of us were really ambitious enough to create any real trouble at that age). But it did make a couple of fans-for-life.
I've done a lot of conventions since then, met a lot of stars whose work I admired, some even in similarly informal situations. But never had one go out of their way to make sure they hadn't let even a single fan go ignored.
Fandom is poorer in his absence.
Posted by ghoul at August 30, 2004 04:02 PM
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Comments
Ah, now, that is sad... I never got to meet the man myself, but I've got several gaming friends who will be saddened by the news. He will be missed...
On another note, hello Jack! This is Andy, aka "The Doctor" from the mid-90's Ohio Amber campaign that Ron was running. It's funny what you turn up when you go looking for old friends via google...
At any rate, feel free to drop a line if you wish. It's enough on this side to see that you're doing well, and still gaming...
Good luck, and take care!
-A
Posted by: Andrew at September 2, 2004 01:32 PM
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