The following is a bit of a departure from the usual here at Science Fiction and
Society. As part of Mary Alward's Childhood Memories event, I've decided to share the
experience of my youth when Star Trek set me on a path that grew into a love for science
fiction and made me a true global citizen. This article evolved from a piece I originally
published on Themestream. The beginning borrows heavily from that piece, but I will go on
to share some new things about my life. I hope you enjoy these musings, and if you've had
similar experiences I'd love to hear about them in the discussion area. And now may I
present...
Memoirs of a Starchild
It was on a balmy October night in the mid-1970s—I forget the exact year—that a young boy sitting in the living room of his great grandparents' house became mesmerized by a flickering field of stars ablaze upon the TV screen. He wasn't quite sure what it was about those little flames, or the program that followed, that set his mind in motion; but he liked it just the same. He had always loved looking up into the heavens from a very young age, and was drawn to shows about space. Perhaps that was the reason. The one thing that is certain is that it was the beginning of his first love affair. The full impact of that night wouldn't become evident for many years; but it was a moment that would change his life.
As you may have guessed, that young boy was me, and the show that captured my heart was Star Trek. And while I don't mean to be melodramatic, Gene Roddenberry's creation has had a huge influence on my life. Through Star Trek I came to develop my view of the world. Roddenberry's vision of a future where all people work together regardless of race, culture, or religious background probably did more to make me who I am today that anything I learned in the classroom. My high school experience certainly didn't provide me with the kind of diversity that I would need when I first set foot on my university's campus and encountered people from all different cultures and backgrounds. Nevertheless, I had no trouble at all getting along in this brave new world.
Today I make my home just outside of Tokyo, Japan. I have a Japanese wife and a child who, obviously, owes his existence to the blood of two races. To me this
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