Beam Me Up, Scotty

   Farewell to engineer Scotty of the original Star Trek series. The Canadian actor James Doohan died on Wednesday at the venerable age of 85. Doohan came to acting after serving with the armed forces in WWII. At 19, Doohan joined the Canadian army, becoming a lieutenant in the artillery that landed on Juno Beach on D-Day. The Canadians were able to cross a minefield laid for tanks because the soldiers weren’t heavy enough to detonate the bombs. At 11:30 that night, Doohan was machine-gunned, taking six hits, including one to the chest which was stopped by his silver cigarette case. You always hear about smoking taking people's lives. I guess this was a happy exception that allowed the world to meet the "Scot". Doohan's harassed engineer character seemed to say at least once in every episode "I canna' hold her together much longer, Jim." Then he would go on to coax a miracle from the ship's engines.
    Straight ahead Scotty, and turn at the next star. May your journey be as much an adventure as your time on the Enterprise.