It has been over a week now since I learned of Nimoy's passing. I'd heard he'd been hospitalized a few days prior with end stage COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), and at his age of 83, I knew death was a strong possibility. Still, his death shocked me. It wasn't so much the death of an elderly diseased man that surprised me, but my reaction to it. I've never met the man, only watched his TV shows and movies and read his poetry. But that's just it. He has been "in my house" since I was born, before that even, as my mother was watching Star Trek long before I was born. He has been in my mind and heart each time I read his poetry. He was a friend, a comfort, a constant in my life. The loss I feel in his absence is great. To those who might not understand why one would grieve the loss of a "celebrity", let me say this: this man, the actor, the poet, embodies my childhood and my love of science fiction and poetry, and to lose him in the physical form is akin to watching my childhood home burn down or my old elementary school be demolished. The memories are still there and will always be there, but as a "human" I can't help but mourn the physical embodiment of such things.
Since I can no longer find the words, I leave you with this, a short poem by Nimoy which seems to capture the moment...
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