We had a slowdown at work for a few weeks and we had time for team building. We got on a puzzle kick and put together quite a few of them so I brought in a puzzle that I’d bought a few years ago and never had time to do at home.
It didn’t take more than 3 days of people popping in for a few minutes here and there to get the puzzle done and now I have it hanging on the wall in my office. The puzzle is based on characters from the original series, but looking at it on my office wall keeps reminding me of Patrick Stewart’s recent passing.
I grew up watching Star Trek: The Next Generation. The new episodes came out on Saturday nights at 6 PM, so we would rush to make sure we got home from the mall in time to catch the show.
I remember being really impressed with the stories because they weren’t just action or comedy, they also had substance and addressed complicated social issues. Through every crisis, Captain Jean Luc Picard kept his cool (or at least held himself together in a respectable way) and completed the mission.
I can’t say he was my favorite character. Data was far more interesting to me. I also was fascinated by Guinan and Wesley. He was, however, a solid role model and he was the reason I drink Earl Grey tea fairly regularly.
Patrick Stewart was getting older and I figured he’d pass sooner rather than later, but he and his family kept everything pretty well under wraps. I didn’t even know he had any health issues. That’s fine though. He had a right to his privacy. I would have liked to have met him, but I never went to any Star Trek conventions. A missed opportunity.
Anyway, it’s weird seeing the actors from shows I loved as a kid slowly disappearing. It’s a reminder that I’m getting older myself.
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