Live Long and Prosper

Happy Birthday to Leonard Nimoy! He's 82 years old today.

Everyone knows that Nimoy is the world's greatest actor and singer, and that he set all of his athletic records without ever using steroids. I'd imagine that he also speaks multiple languages, has mastered jeet kune do, and can solve a Rubik's Cube in 17 seconds flat. But what you may not know is that Mr. Nimoy's Star Trek performance was the single greatest influence in developing my lifelong love of logic.

I even had a Spock haircut in the 8th Grade. (I'll try to find a photo of that and post it in a future blog. You've been warned.)

Of course, I remember that haircut as being something I requested to show my affection for all things Vulcan. But it's possible that I received that particular style because my dad was my barber, and only knew how to do the bowl cut. Oh well, either way, it was a good fashion statement.

I did actually go to a real barber a few times as a kid. I remember the smell of that blue disinfectant they kept the combs in, and the strange hierarchy that meant a poorer haircut the further down the line your chair was. It was the era of the ubiquitous crew cut, though, so I always wondered how it mattered which guy ran the clippers over your head. And for Landru's sake, what was the point of Brylcreem?

But Spock made sense. And I found myself embracing the beauty of living a logical life. Oh sure...I also understood that it was Kirk's human passion that allowed him to score with all the chicks, and that there was value in emotions such as empathy, love, and compassion. But the only things you could really count on for consistency and balance were science, math, and logic.

I even wrote a joke about Spock's demise in "Wrath of Khan"; What did Kirk tell Spock to do when he was glowing with radiation? Live long and phosphor! Ar ar.

Anyway, in honor of LN's birthday, please give the honored Vulcan split-finger salute to someone you care about today. And let a little of your own green blood influence your decisions as you go about your daily activities. Write your Congressmen and remind them that emotions should be fortified with actual data and logic. If you can let Mr. Nimoy's spirit guide you to find that middle ground between Herbert and the Space Hippies, the odds of having a great day are 12,432.7 to one.

Happy birthday, Leonard!