Several years ago, I wrote a blog about one of my favorite Science Fiction franchises, Star Wars. You might assume that it is my favorite franchise in that genre. But there is another ScI-Fi franchise I like more: Star Trek. Now I know some fans of each series say you can’t like both, comparable to cheering for both Duke and UNC, but college sports are different than television series.

While I enjoy Star Wars, it is more of a space opera. Star Trek is a hopeful vision of what the future could be like and that’s what I am drawn to. Many of Gene Roddenberry’s predictions of the future from when Star Trek first aired on September 8th 1966 have come true. The communicators resemble our modern smart phones and the com badges, bluetooth. More importantly, Star Trek was the first TV show to have an African-American actress in a prominent role, the first interracial kiss and the list of ground-breaking firsts could go on and on. In fact, the new iterations of Star Trek continue to push boundaries with disabled characters and more. I love it.

Star Trek Day was observed on September 8th to celebrate the premier of The Original Series and the ideals of unity and inclusiveness that Star Trek has espoused for nearly 60 years. I am a big fan of Captain Kirk, Spock and Dr. McCoy of the original series. They were the perfect trio of characters, each written to represent a different aspect of humanity. Dr. Leonard McCoy was a hot-headed Southerner from Mississippi who wore his emotions on his sleeve and nearly always made decisions based on his gut feeling. Spock was the polar opposite. He was calm and cool, always basing his actions on pure logic. Then there was the infamous James T. Kirk. The Iowa-born ladies’ man was in the middle of the spectrum between McCoy’s emotionalism and Spock’s logic.

Kirk was the perfect representation of the average, everyday human. Sometimes we are calm and logical and others, we react to situations with strong emotions and can’t help it. Gabe and I are like Captain Kirk. Oftentimes, we throw caution to the wind in order to go on our next big adventure. We like to push boundaries and deal with the consequences later.  Our motto is, “It’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission”.

Then sometimes the cool, calm and logical sides of Gabe and myself takeover. For example, Gabe has learned that maybe it’s not the best idea to chase the skunk or constantly dig up mom’s flowers. I’ve figured out that there will always be another ball game to go to or cover. It is better to be more well-rounded. That calm logical side of Gabe usually only shows itself after eating some Arin’s Good Girl Dog Treats and lasts all of five minutes or less. Then he reverts right back to being the K9 version of Kirk or more often  McCoy.

The original Starship Enterprise had a 5 year mission to “Boldly Go Where No Man Has Gone Before”. Gabe and I will begin Year 4 of our Adventures together in December of 2025. No, we won’t be fighting the Gorn or any other alien species, and we are highly unlikely to explore other planets. But through this blog and other means, we can continue to push for inclusion for all people, empathy for those who look and think differently than us and for a brighter future. That’s the vision and message of Star Trek. Hopefully one day, it will stop being Science Fiction and become reality.