Remembering Scotty

I just read that James Doohan (Scotty from "Star Trek") died today. As you can probably guess from the accompanying pictures, I wasn't just a hopeless dork in junior high school, but a Trekkie as well.

I may as well have worn a T-shirt that said "Shun Me" on it.

I actually met Mr. Doohan once. He came to my hometown to promote the video release of "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home." My family and I headed to the video store where he was appearing. When we got there, I noticed the sweet Winnebago parked in the lot that said "Scotty" on it.

I waited in line with our newly purchased Trek movie and the recently purchased but already well-worn copy of "Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise."

Mr. Doohan was extremely nice to every single person in line. He didn't rush them or balk when dorky 12-year-olds asked to take pictures with him. And it wasn't an act; he was genuinely kind, asking questions about where people were from and stuff like that.

With the exception of seeing former KFRC disc jockey Dr. Don Rose at Bayfair Mall when I was barely in school, Jimmy Doohan was the first celebrity I'd ever met.

I read his autobiography a while back and was amazed at what he'd done even before Star Trek. I knew that he'd lost a finger, but I didn't realize how he lost it. I'm not going to tell you; go read the book.

Despite my demeanor in the picture, I was thrilled to meet Jimmy. Please keep in mind that I was 12, I was a dork and this was the mid-80s. Nobody looked cool. My dad and my brother fare slightly better than I, but I am in full-bore geek mode.

I tip my hat to Mr. Doohan, who, in addition to everything else he did, was also a cool cat.