I grew up watching Star Trek with my dad. The original series aired and was cancelled before I was born, but was in reruns every day on the local UHF station and my Dad and I would watch it every day when I got home from school. Once or twice a year the station would run marathons of TOS and my dad would make a big event of it, setting up a pillow fort and seeing how long we could stay up and how many episodes we could watch. Those are some of my fondest memories of him.

I was in high school when the next generation came out, and at the time my parents had an old school. At the time my parents had one of the old school giant white satelitte dishes, and I found that we could watch the episodes on the network feed 3 or so days before they aired on local TV. I loved knowing what was going to happen before my friends did!

Star Trek continued to be integral to my life as I left high school and started work. I planned my week around it. When TNG and DS9 were both on the air at the same time, I didn’t think life could get any better. This was the time I attended my first Star Trek convention. It was called Vulkon in Tampa Bay and for the first time, I discovered just how many other people shared my passion! Once I attended my first con, I was hooked. There was no turning back!

It was at one of these conventions I met my future band mates from Sci-Fried Chuck and Vern. We were all there because we loved Star Trek, we met, and became friends. It wasn’t until years later we decided to form a band. It could be said that Star Trek created Sci-Fried.

I’ve just returned from watching Star Trek Beyond (with my band mates) and I could not be happier with the film. It recaptured the spirit of Trek and recaptured our hearts. The 50th anniversary of the franchise is approaching, and I am excited for the future! Star Trek has always been a huge part of my life, and I hope it always will be!