Starfleet Academy vs. VA Tech

Huh????   Those of you who aren’t into BBT, SciFi, fantasy, anime, manga, comics, all things geek, just please bear with me here.

This all came about because of a Big Bang Theory episode.  Sheldon’s parting shot to Leonard’s girlfriend after an argument was:  “You may have gone to Cambridge, but I went to Starfleet Academy”.  My husband states, “There is no such thing”.  At which point, I came out of my Kindle fog and told him, oh yes there is and I’ve taken courses there.

“Well, they can’t have anything to do with the real world”.  Fighting words.  Real world?  REAL WORLD??  Excuse me, but Star Trek is the real world.  I told him the courses I took have certainly done me more good in the “real” world than his BS in Theatre Arts.  I mean, how often do you use “How to stage Medea’?  He stammered and stuttered and said,”I learned lighting and wiring”.   My left eyebrow raised several inches as I sardonically sneered at him.

“So, why did I have to install the dimmer switches, the motion sensor lights at the ends of the house, and the ceiling fans throughout the house?”  No answer.  Silence from the Hokie Alumnus.  “I learned such things in the Science & Technology (Physical sciences,  technology and engineering) degree I earned from Starfleet Academy.

“I know several physicists and engineers who work(ed) on the CERN Accelerator.  How many actors, actresses, and plywrights do you know?”  Still silence from the Hokie Alumnus.

He would not admit defeat, but he did admit I had a point.  I reminded him I had several points.  I then told him “Good night” – in Klingon – Maj rahm, yIQongchu’!   Dujeychugh jagh nIv yItuHQo’!  “There is nothing shameful in falling before a superior enemy”.

He was not amused.  I just held my 4’10” self as tall as possible and bowed to him.  “haisya”.  He growled,”now I’m getting stabbed in Japanese”.  I smiled and went to bed.  BAZINGA!!  Bit I turned to him with these last words: ” And that is why I have Commander pips on my Star Trek uniforms and you have a ragged VA Tech tee shirt.”

Starfleet Academy 10   VA Tech Zilch.

The official logo of Starfleet Academy, circa 2375. The Roman numerals refer to its founding year of 2161. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My Other Car is a Klingon Battlecruiser

Or … welcome to LaLa Land.  I am a realist, believe it or not.  But tucked away in my brain is my own world.  My blog is part of that world.  I invite people to sit on the porch, to visit the nishikigoi pond, to come by for fried chicken and lemonade or when the magnolias are in bloom, to help themselves to the blooms.  In turn, I’ve had visitors to the blog talk about camping out and being sure to leave it spic and span behind themselves.  Zooey the cat visits, Walter the black lab is also a regular and courteous visitor.

Sometimes though, the real world is just too much.  I have to leave and go into a world where thee is no one shooting children, torturing animals, starving the elderly.  In my world, there is no domestic violence, women are not circumcised so they can feel no sexual pressure nor are they tortured for learning to read or daring to have an opinion.  No one goes hungry, all have a place to sleep, eat, and be safe.  The past few days I HAVE JUST FREAKING HAD ENOUGH.  ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

But I also realize, if I stay in that perfect world, I won’t be out in the real world trying to make a difference.  I can’t count on everyone else to do my part.  So I made a resolve today – I would light a candle against the darkness, I would spread kindness instead of hurt.  I would do good instead of evil.

There is a movement on Facebook to do random acts of kindness.  Yes, I know….blahbah,  warm fuzzy, silly stupid stuff to a lot of people.  Personally, I think we are better than that.   I paid the toll this morning for the guy behind me and asked the toll taker to tell him Merry Christmas.  At McDonald’s I bought the breakfast of a man in the Army, on his way to his day’s duties at Ft. Lee. My husband, even when he was unemployed and money was so very tight, would buy the lunch of a service person.  I always found money in the budget to make up for it.  Say thank you to a service person, or EMT, or firefighter, or a cop.

Smile back at the child in the seat of the grocery basket in front of you.  Hold the door for someone.  Let the car in front of you in line from the on ramp.  Buy a cheap bouquet of flowers and hand them out to people you ride one the elevator with everyday.  Tell someone how much you appreciate them.  Say I love you twice to your spouse as you go out the door.  Buy some $5 gas cards and hand out randomly to cars parked around you.  Volunteer at the local Veteran or Children’s Hospital.  Help out at the local food bank.

DO SOME GOOD.  Make someone smile.  Slow down and smell the rain in the air.  Watch the sunset.  Savor life.  It is all too short.  Kindness is in short supply.  Let’s make it more available to everyone.

In the meantime, I’m going to cruise around in my Klingon battle cruiser and see if I can keep that skinny dog on the side of the road from starving – help him get to a shelter and be warm.  Stop to offer help to that woman with a flat tire.  I’m going to load up my battle cruiser with some toys and drop off at the closest Toys for Tots drop off station.

I think LaLa Land might just be achievable after all.  I need your help though.  Who’s with me?