I pretty much never comment on deaths of celebrities other than just a personal prayer for them. Mainly because such comments would be more talking about myself and the celebrities impact than the person who has died. Kind of like a Obama’s White House photo in tribute that of course was a picture of himself and not Leonard Nimoy.
Still this time I have to indulge. Looking back I had two childhood heroes that I wanted to imitate. Sherlock Holmes and Spock. Not a big surprise they were both fictional characters and why they appealed to me as an atheist with stoical tendencies. I mentioned this fact to a coworker who is an atheist after the news and he admitted the same two heroes.
At least in the case of Spock there was a real person behind the character whose skills brought the character to life. I follow hardly any “celebrities” on Twitter, but Leonard Nimoy was one of them. It is nice to watch a career of an actor and never have the reveal that in their personal life they were a jerk. That in reality they were a class act. His personal life was not without flaws, but they were ones he mostly overcame. Still it is easy to love someone who wrote two biographies I am not Spock and I am Spock.
As both now a Catholic and someone who believe in eternal life I can say LLAP to Leonard Nimoy and mean it. I do find it odd that many people who don’t believe in eternal life are using LLAP in regards to his death, seems rather ironic.
Another interesting aspect is the reaction to his death by such a large segment of people. As a geek it is pretty awesome to see that an actor who is mostly known for playing a character in a SF series has had such a profound response. The mainstreaming of SF via Star Trek and Star Wars goes beyond the commercialization and has opened new generations to my lifetime favorite genre.
I am also reminded of SF author John C. Wright’s quote “If Vulcans had a church, they’d be Catholics.”
This appeals to me as someone who aspired to be a Vulcan, but is much happier as a Catholic.
So Requiescat in Pace and Live and Prosper Leonard Nimoy.
LLAP (Live Love Avoid Purgatory)
