Star Trek @ 50 - Happy Birthday, Star Trek!

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Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Thu, 09/08/2016 - 07:51

As I sat down to write this piece, I should say that I am much more of a Star Wars guy than a Star Trek guy. Don't get me wrong, I don't think you have to be one or the other, but gun to my head, I would pick Star Wars every time. So it might seem strange that I would want to honor Star Trek on it's 50th anniversary. But, Star Trek still holds a very special place in my heart...

When I was a kid, I had a huge obsession with comic book writer Peter David (still do). A friend of mine had given me a random issue of X-Factor as a birthday gift, and I was immediately hooked.

In high school, a friend of a friend was a bit of a Star Trek geek, and I noticed that she was reading a Star Trek book by the very same Peter David (Q-Squared). I started talking to her about that book, and she basically ended up giving it to me to read. By the way, that book, while great, is an awful first experience with Star Trek featuring all kinds of alternate realities. I later ended up dating that Star Trek geek...who I married and have three children with (two named after Star Trek characters, by the way).

I've taken her to Star Trek conventions...in fact, she attended one in a wheelchair just days after our daughter was born, just so she could meet Levar Burton. I even bought her a Klingon Bat'Leth, which hangs proudly on our wall. Most nights, she goes to bed while reading Star Trek fan fic. That is my wife, my perfect Star Trek geek. (BTW, my wife just chewed me out for typing "Klingon sword", yanked the computer away to change it to Bat'Leth...)

While my wife is a huge TNG fan, I am more into Deep Space Nine. That is why our kids are named Kira and Ben. My mom and I used to watch Enterprise together, even when I moved out. I also love Star Trek books, especially Peter David's New Frontier series. While this is probably blasphemous to most old school Trek fans, my wife and I both love the new "Kelvinverse" movies and comics.

Star Trek is an important part of our lives, so I just want to say Happy 50th birthday Star Trek, from the Maillaro Family!