I was born the week Star Trek premiered, and it has been apart of my life as far back as I can remember. One of my first memories at all was being sick at the age of 2 or 3 and seeing the Enterprise shoot across our TV screen.
As a kid, I made cardboard phasers, and communicators. At age 10, a set of magic markers turned the pantry in our house into the Bridge of the Enterprise, much to my mother's chagrin.
My father, on the other hand, liked westerns. Sci-Fi was not his thing. But sometimes... late at night... he would wake me up in the wee hours, give me an RC Cola and a snack, and sit down on the couch and watch Star Trek with me. (At the time, it was only on around 1am, and at 10, that was way past my bedtime.) He never said a word, just sat there with his arm around me and watched the show... ten shuffled me into bed. It was our special time.
When I graduated from High school, other kids went on trips and got cars... our family was poor, so I didn't expect anything. I was stunned when my father surprised me by driving me to the local movie theatre and handing me the money to see Star Trek III, and would not take "no" for an answer. It is still my favorite Trek movie to this day.
So my favorite Star Trek memory is not a convention, or one of the episodes or movies. It is remembering that my father, who was not a fan, made sure that I was able to enjoy it.
