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I've been thinking about James Doohan all day today, ever since I heard he passed away this morning.
Several years ago, I read an article which indicated that if you asked a typical engineer, especially in the aerospace industry, to name the one person who had the greatest influence on them going into that field, the person they would most likely name is Mr. Montgomery Scott, or "Scotty," of the starship Enterprise. I find it ironic that the Engineer's Avatar for the last two generations never actually existed -- except, of course, in the hearts and minds of a few million devoted fans.
I am also struck by the fact that Doohan passed away on the anniversary of one of the milestones in our journey into space -- the first successful moon landing, by the Apollo 11 crew (Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, and Micheal Collins). This is the second time in a year that we've had major space-related personalities die on the day (or anniversary) of a major space-related event -- the other one being Mercury 7 astronaut Gordon Cooper passing away on the day that Space Ship One made her second successful 100-km-plus flight and claimed the Ansari X-prize.
Actually, I never knew "James Doohan" very well, but "Mr. Scott" was a friend of mine since childhood. Whenever I think of him, two scenes in particular come to mind, both from the original series.
In the first, I think Scotty has recently been injured, but I'm not sure (Hey, this was 30 years ago, okay?). Kirk has just ordered him to take it easy and relax for a while, at which point Scotty walks over to the shelf, pulls out some sort of technical manual, and sits down at the table to read it. Kirk looks at him, and says something to the effect of, "Mr. Scott, I thought I just ordered you to go and *relax.*" Scotty looks up at him, perplexed, and says, "Aye, sir. I *am* relaxin'!"
The other is when Scotty is sent along to keep an eye on a couple of junior crewmembers during a bit of R&R on a "neutral ground" space station. A fight breaks out, and Scotty has to explain to Kirk that he threw the first punch -- not when the Klingons on the station insulted the Enterprise's captain (which you can tell Kirk was perfectly ready to forgive) but when they called the Enterprise a "garbage scow" ::G::
And he was a bit of a rogue, too... as evidenced by the time they basically stole the Enterprise out of the spacedock, and were worried that the Excelsior would just come out and catch them -- at which point Scotty just grins, holds up a handful of some sort of components, and says something to the effect of, "Well now... they'll be having a wee bit o'trouble doin' that without these...."
James Doohan, heaven knows that after 85 years you've earned a rest... but you'll be missed, and I suspect that engineers and other fans the world over are mourning your loss, even as they continue to pursue the dreams you helped plant within them.
Warp speed, Mr. Scott.
Second star to the left, and straight on 'till morning...
Several years ago, I read an article which indicated that if you asked a typical engineer, especially in the aerospace industry, to name the one person who had the greatest influence on them going into that field, the person they would most likely name is Mr. Montgomery Scott, or "Scotty," of the starship Enterprise. I find it ironic that the Engineer's Avatar for the last two generations never actually existed -- except, of course, in the hearts and minds of a few million devoted fans.
I am also struck by the fact that Doohan passed away on the anniversary of one of the milestones in our journey into space -- the first successful moon landing, by the Apollo 11 crew (Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, and Micheal Collins). This is the second time in a year that we've had major space-related personalities die on the day (or anniversary) of a major space-related event -- the other one being Mercury 7 astronaut Gordon Cooper passing away on the day that Space Ship One made her second successful 100-km-plus flight and claimed the Ansari X-prize.
Actually, I never knew "James Doohan" very well, but "Mr. Scott" was a friend of mine since childhood. Whenever I think of him, two scenes in particular come to mind, both from the original series.
In the first, I think Scotty has recently been injured, but I'm not sure (Hey, this was 30 years ago, okay?). Kirk has just ordered him to take it easy and relax for a while, at which point Scotty walks over to the shelf, pulls out some sort of technical manual, and sits down at the table to read it. Kirk looks at him, and says something to the effect of, "Mr. Scott, I thought I just ordered you to go and *relax.*" Scotty looks up at him, perplexed, and says, "Aye, sir. I *am* relaxin'!"
The other is when Scotty is sent along to keep an eye on a couple of junior crewmembers during a bit of R&R on a "neutral ground" space station. A fight breaks out, and Scotty has to explain to Kirk that he threw the first punch -- not when the Klingons on the station insulted the Enterprise's captain (which you can tell Kirk was perfectly ready to forgive) but when they called the Enterprise a "garbage scow" ::G::
And he was a bit of a rogue, too... as evidenced by the time they basically stole the Enterprise out of the spacedock, and were worried that the Excelsior would just come out and catch them -- at which point Scotty just grins, holds up a handful of some sort of components, and says something to the effect of, "Well now... they'll be having a wee bit o'trouble doin' that without these...."
James Doohan, heaven knows that after 85 years you've earned a rest... but you'll be missed, and I suspect that engineers and other fans the world over are mourning your loss, even as they continue to pursue the dreams you helped plant within them.
Warp speed, Mr. Scott.
Second star to the left, and straight on 'till morning...
