Americans have always had a fascination with space travel.
Those of us who are old enough remember watching the Buck Rogers serial at the movie theater. They starred Buster Crabb, who once played Tarzan. Then, in the 1960s, we watched the real deal as Americans went into space in the Mercury and Gemini programs.
In 1969 we watched man land on the moon as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made their footprints immortal, taking that "That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind."
During the three previous years to the moon walk, many of us watched as the USS Enterprise traveled into space -- the final frontier -- and watched Capt. Kirk, Mr. Spock and the gang go where no man has gone before.
I like some sci-fi. I'm a fan of The Twilight Zone and I enjoy listening to the old radio shows -- Suspense and Weird Circle.
But most of all I loved Star Trek -- the original series. I like the other ones OK and the movies are all right, but give me the original show. I know it could be hokey and the scenery looked so fake at times, just like most of the TV Westerns of that era, but on Friday nights it was Star Trek.
So it was with sadness that I read about the death of Leonard Nimoy last week. He was Mr. Spock -- the half human, half Vulcan first officer aboard the Enterprise. Besides being Spock, Nimoy was a noted film director, author and photographer.
Spock, with his Vulcan nerve grip, was my favorite guy. Well, I like Scotty as well, but nothing beat Mister Calm, Cool and Collected when the Enterprise was in a tight spot. I always wanted to learn that grip and take care of a couple of guys in high school.
Star Trek came onto the scene when I was a junior and senior in high school. At the time, we had one TV and as luck would have it the TV set was portable. It was black and white, not color, with I think a 19-inch screen, but the stand it was on was a cart so it could be rolled from the living room to my bedroom.
My folks weren't big Star Trek fans and so on Friday night I was able to talk them into letting me wheel the TV set into my bedroom to catch the latest episode. There I could walk nervously around the room as the crew battled their way through those tight spots.
I didn't get to see it every Friday night because as a yearbook and school newspaper photographer, I was obligated to shoot pictures at home football and basketball games.
There was no way I was going to miss it if I was at home. If you're a fan of the Big Bang Theory, I can relate to Sheldon and Leonard when it comes to Star Trek, but I would never be seen at a Trekkie convention, purchase toys or wear their uniforms. I just liked watching the show.
Before my fingers got too arthritic, I was able to do the Vulcan split finger salute -- Live Long and Prosper. Now I kind of struggle to keep the fingers together.
Over the weekend, I watched Nimoy as he reprised his role as Mr. Spock in the 2009 movie version of Star Trek, which tells the story of early years in the relationship of Spock and Kirk. Nimoy played Spock from the future who tells the young Kirk how to get along with the young Spock and tells the future captain that the two of them would become great friends.
It was the first time I had seen the movie and I must say that I found it quite entertaining.
But nothing beats the campy original series and theme of spreading peace in the universe, while blazing away with those phasers and photon torpedoes all while the shields keep the bad guys' weapons at bay.
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This year's snow storms are nothing like last year and certainly nothing like what the East Coast is seeing. Boston is on the verge of setting a record for snowfall in one season.
However, I am reminded after two storms in a little over a week -- and another one forecast for today -- that I hate snow more and more.
I'm just glad we don't have the bitter cold that we had a year ago. At least the stuff is melting fairly quickly. I hope to be able to shovel the slush from the driveway before the new storm hits.
But one thing that continues to bug me is how people in four-wheel drive pickup trucks think they are able to go the speed limit on the streets with reckless abandon.
I like to be careful on these snow-packed roads because you never know when you're going to hit a slick spot. And on ice, my convertible or a four-wheel drive pickup truck will have the same stopping power: None.
There was an interesting Facebook posting of cars sliding down Riordan Road last Friday and crashing into each other. Snow crews hadn't gotten to treat many of the roads that early on in the storm and the cars had no stopping power.
The roads were a mess as the snow hit at rush hour and traffic came to a standstill. We closed our office early so we could get the staff out of here before traffic got snarled. Even with the head start, reporter Brandon Howard said it took two hours to get home to Fayetteville.
So let's be careful out there when we have the bad roads. I'm so worried someone is going to take me or my staff out by driving recklessly.
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Throne is managing editor of The Weekly Vista.
Editorial on 03/04/2015