Many years ago, during the 1989 Worldcon, Noreascon III, the banquet that was put together by Ellen Franklin and her great crew asked numerous people to speak, for no more than what was it, two minutes, I think on "how science fiction changed my life". There's a videotape of it. It was beyond fabulous as writer after writer, fan after fan, editor after editor regaled us with great stories. I remember many of them still. Folks who found their voices as authors. Others who found husbands, wives, best friends. People who followed in the footsteps of parents to become professionals, editors and writers. Fans who found family in fandom.

This came to mind yesterday after seeing Star Trek and commenting over on Facebook that well, um, well, shoot, something I never said straight out. Articulately. That came as I talked about the impact, and when it comes right down to it, importance that Star Trek actually had on my life.

See, when Stu and I started talking about going to the movie and bringing a souvenir, maybe a button from bak then, I dug into this big basket I have full of buttons that go back decades. Buttons from everything from marches and demonstrations, supporting and opposing propositions, and funny buttons from conventions and there it was. Black and white, it's a big round button with the outline of the USS Enterprise flying over a city full of skyscrapers reading "The Star Trek Convention" and it's dated 1975. And I found a name tag I had from "Space Con" a Star Trek convention that I co-chaired in Oakland. A button advertising FROM THE STARS, George Takei's memoirs. A pin drawn by Bill Rotsler that reads "Not a trekkie. Never! Never!"

One of the neat things about Facebook I've discovered is finding old friends, people from high school, early jobs, volunteer gigs. In part I joined in on the FB fun to find a woman named Mandy Carter. In joining I found my old friend Sharon Ferraro. These two women are responsible in large part for my love of volunteering, my love of working on events, of organizing behind the scenes.

And it comes down to this. Of course, you can't know what path your life will take if something happens, if you make a decision, but I do wonder if I would have the life I have, found this life these friends, this community and the people I have loved and do love if it weren't for Star Trek. Seriously.

Because see, I went to a Star Trek convention in New York. At that convention - one of the very first - I did all the neofan things that we did at that time. I went to one or two after that. I heard and saw all the actors, and went to the dealer's room, saw the masquerade, made friends and heard Isaac Asimov and Harlan Ellison. And then after seeing everything there was to see, and seeing the gofers and other volunteers who seemed to be doing cool stuff and having something else in mind, I somehow connected with Sharon, who ran "The Hole In the Deck Gang" and i joined up, becoming a gofer and working a few Trek cons. These included the notorious Chicago disaster con and the New York con where Shatner got a pie in the face. Ahhhh, glorious times.

But seriously folks, when I moved to Oakland in 1976, early on, I found a Star Trek store (yes they did exist). It was there that I saw a flyer for a reading by Harlan in San Jose, got a ride to that,met someone who introduced me to greater bay area science fiction fandom. I had already been reading in the field, thanks, no joke, to Harlan (I'd spent my last few bucks on a paperback of DANGEROUS VISIONS after hearing him read). I was discovering the women who were changing the field. And my life fell into place. Yes, I've spent a lot of time in politics. I'm a mystery fan and consider that my family and community as well. But I just have to wonder both IF I would have found fandom and how much longer it might have taken me to find it had it not been for Star Trek.

I've fought the whole "Trekkie" thing for so long for the same reason I've fought other terms. I try to correct folks who use "sci-fi" if I think they won't mind. I cringe at the term "suffragette" because I think it's demeaning to those women (yeah, mostly women) who fought and went through hell to gain basic rights. But I don't think it matters much if someone calls me a "Trekker" or a "Trekkie". I don't really know anyone who believes that it's more "serious" if you are a "Trekker".

I'm not saying that the movie, and thus the television show, made me who I was. I've never seen all the episodes. I haven't seen most of the movies. Many of the scripts were horrid, trite, corny and badly written. Hoo-boy yes. What attracted me to Star Trek, as I recall, was in part that it was different, very different from anything I had seen before. And Spock. It was always Spock. I wish I could say that things bothered me, like Uhura's damn mini-dress, but I did not have a clue. But Spock? Spock was hot. I had the big poster of Leonard Nimoy on the wall (ceiling?). I went to see Nimoy doing appearances early on. And when I started working on Trek cons he was the one I most wished to get to know, although I never did.

Which is where my love of George Takei comes from. This was the guy. George was the only the one and only show actor who ever took it upon himself to be available to fans. But more than that, he was the walkin' one and only actor in the show to find his way to the volunteer room, to the "gofer hole" over and over to say thanks. to hang out. To sit down and chat with the volunteers often teenagers, who'd never met a Hollywood actor before. And might never again.

And that time he and i talked? Not for long, five maybe ten minutes? Mo Udall. Democratic politics and his support for Mo Udall. Hot damn. But it was that, the option of talking serious politics with a relative strangers, and then maybe an hour later, watching the blooper reel (my first) where these same professionals goofed up. I liked that. And extend that teeny few minutes of conversation with George Takei to what became my take on fandom at large. I found my mishpocha my true family, a mostly non-judgmental crowd. And a crowd that respected, valued and wanted to be around intelligence. Something that since that day has been true for me of fandom.

Oh yeah, and if you do ever see George, do me a favor? Not for me, but for a friend. No really. Tell him, on behalf of this old admirer that it wasn't Gene Roddenberry that gave Sulu his first name. He remembers that, (it's in his memoirs) (read them. Did you know about his life in the internment camps during WW II? You should.) but he misremembers. Sulu was given his wonderful first name, Hikaru, by the equally wonderful Vonda N. McIntyre. How's that for cool? I remember when it happened and I know I remember why. Could you pass that on? Cool. If you need me to explain, I will. Or better still, Vonda should.

But here it is. I'm a Trekkie. I'm never going to deny it. I'm grateful to the television show that brought me my life, my friends and my love. I'd love for everyone who knows me to understand this - those few who aren't already part of that community.

Fandom is a great place to live. We often share great values. And we sure in hell have a great movie!