March 31, 2004
Star Trek and Sun Sensitivity
Chapter Four in The Complete Idiot's Guide to Publishing Science Fiction made me think back to the only Star Trek convention I've ever attended. I was sick in the summer of 1992, my face half-paralyzed with Lyme Disease, forbidden from being out in sunlight because of the strong antibiotics in my portable intravenous drip. So my parents brought me to the sunny Jersey shore for a week.
My brother and I discovered that the increased G-force of the The Sea Serpent roller coaster on Morey’s Pier forced my blood back into the heparin lock taped to my arm. Instead of a nearly-invisible clear tube, it became a blood-filled snake widing up my forearm, which only spurred us to ride it more.
Walking past the convention center, I saw ads for the Star Trek con going on inside. Surprisingly, my parents sprung for the entry fee and brought the entire clan to the convention. Most of what happened is obscured by an illness-and-drug-induced haze, but I remember Nichelle Nichols offering an amusing keynote and a lovely song, then graciously signing a photo for me with a few kind words. There was no one dressed as a Klingon, but there were a few pairs of Vulcan ears.
I saved my autographed Nichelle Nichols photo until just a couple of years ago. It came with me to college and hung in my dorm rooms. It was packed up after marriage and zig zagged the country with me. But Nichelle didn't survive the move to Boston, it was torn badly and I had to throw it away.