By Mary O’KEEFE

The world of “Star Trek” was hit hard in October. On Oct. 14, Michael Forest died at 97 years old. He portrayed Apollo in the original series “Star Trek” in the episode titled “Who Mourns for Adonais?”

Then on Oct. 15, Richard Riehle passed away at 78. He was often a guest star on a variety of “Star Trek” episodes including “Star Trek: Enterprise,” “Star Trek:Voyager” and “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (STTNG). 

And on Oct. 25 at age 90, Walter Koenig – Ensign Pavel Chekov – passed away. On Oct. 28, Sir Patrick Stewart, at age 86, crossed over. 

As readers of this column know, I am a Trekkie going way back – before the movies and even before the spin-offs. The original series, even at an early age, gave me hope for the future. I loved seeing so many different humans and species working together. 

“Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry said that Walter was cast as Chekov because he looked like “Davy Jones from The Monkees.” (He wanted to play to the younger generation.) 

But for me, Chekov meant more than just a Davy Jones look-alike. He was Russian and openly proud of being Russian and everyone around him treated him equally. This was in the 1960s and, although I found “Star Trek” in reruns in the ’70s, we were in a Cold War. The generation before me had “duck and cover” drills for when the Russians sent over nuclear weapons. We were in an intense space race and Russian spies were everywhere. I lived in Iowa, not too far from Omaha, Nebraska. We all knew this was one of the top Soviet military targets in the world. I know it may be difficult for younger people to understand but as a child there was a constant reminder that the number one nuclear target was our backyard. 

And yet here was this perfectly friendly, cute guy navigating the Enterprise. That is where the hope was found by me. 

I am an original “Star Trek” super fan and a fan of “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” I have to be honest: when it came to choosing Kirk or Picard, I was Kirk but in recent years I started appreciating Capt. Picard more and more. He was an intellect, a philosopher, a historian, a psychologist … he was everything rolled up into one. 

Patrick Stewart gave Capt. Picard such a range of emotions and nuances. This man was an actor. You just knew that he knew everything about his character and loved the man he was portraying. In actor’s terms, there was a lot of attention paid to the subtext of the character and of every scene. 

But recently I have found that while Captain Kirk’s strength was in-your-face kind of action, Captain Picard’s was a subtle strength that built as the scene, and the series, grew.

It has been nice to watch STTNG again with experienced eyes. As the real world around us seems to be moving toward the “strong man” mentality, it is nice to see how true strength is built and wielded with intellect and understanding. 

There have been a lot of tributes to Sir Patrick Stewart and Walter Koenig – on social media and in print – since their passing but as always the most eloquent and meaningful words are echoed from “Star Trek” itself: “Someone once told me that time was a predator that stalked us all our lives. I’d rather believe that time is a companion who goes with us on the journey. Reminds us to cherish every moment. Because he’ll never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we live. The potential [is] to make yourself a better man. And that is what it is to be human.”

[This quote came from the film “Star Trek: Generations.”]

There does not appear to be any rain in the next few days. Temperatures will be in the high 70s today and Friday to warmer – in the low 80s – over the weekend, then back down to the 70s on Monday and Tuesday. 

NOAA is tracking a “stronger looking low pressure system” that may bring rain on Nov. 16 and Nov. 17 but that could change. 

There will be wind along the foothills, possibly Thursday night but more likely on Friday and Saturday with gusts of 20 mph. 

Local resident Gregg Inboden reported 0.31 inches of rain received last weekend.