Spock lives on the edge of our kitchen table and seems quite absorbed in all of our conversations. He’s wearing the Starfleet uniform, giving the traditional Vulcan split-finger hand gesture, and if you touch him or the table on which he stands he says one of 3 things as his oversized head bobs, “Live long and prosper,” “Fascinating!” or “You are, after all, essentially irrational.” No matter when he speaks, which often seems spontaneous, unprovoked, and random, his comments are always appropriate. I have always loved Spock and identified with him. Although he is generally thought of as “logical” if you have watched as much Star Trek as I have, you know his greatest inner conflicts involve dealing with the irrational emotions he inherited from his human mother. I feel for him.
He and I also now share being vegetarians. Neither of us is a proponent of eating animal flesh, but we have both secretly enjoyed it at some point in our lives. (See Star Trek: The Original Series, Episode “All Our Yesterdays.”)
Being overachievers in school has endowed both of us with the opportunity to explore otherwise unknown territories, and form great friendships while doing it.
I aspire to one more characteristic of Spock – his longevity. Although I don’t expect to make it past 150 (Vulcans live about twice the average for humans), I have every intention of living as long as I can and prospering. I have some serious questions about what exactly it means to, “live long.” And while I’m at it, I’m also questioning what it means to “prosper.” Forget about accumulating wealth, I enjoy the definition, “to flourish physically; to grow strong and healthy.”
We are all, after all, essentially irrational, so enjoy all the silly little gifts that come your way, and may you live long and prosper. Fascinating!
