He Gave All He Had, and a Wee Bit More

Or
He cannae take it any more, cap'n
Or
Beam Him Up
(Epitaphany shared with Keith, Tammy, Monty and Shawn)

Or
He’s Dead, Jim
(Solo props for Shawn)
James “Scotty” Doohan, has boldly gone where only DeForest Kelley among Star Trek regulars had gone before, passing away at 85. Doohan, a member of Space Command in the early sci-fi serial and… Oh, who are we kidding – he was the lovable chief engineer who kept the Starship Enterprise from falling apart. After trying a number of different accents, Doohan decided the Scottish brogue was the most authoritative and Edinburghers were forever chagrined. Doohan appeared in all but the first episode of the series, then the first 7 movies, including a cameo with Chekov in Generations where Captain Kirk was killed, and had a cameo in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Doohan also developed the origins of the Klingon language, which was later expanded from a few words and phrases to a full language. Performing heroics in the stars was an extension of real life for Doohan, who fought with the Royal Canadian Artillery in World War II, storming Juno Beach on D-Day, where he was shot 6 times, including one that cost him the end of his middle finger.

Four of us expected Scotty’s voyage to the Undiscovered Country: Shawn’s Team Two moves into 5th, Keith’s Nine Old Men (and One Old Woman) move into 6th, my Better Dead than Red State moves into 12th, and with her first hit ever, Tammy climbs out of the cellar and into 22nd place. This gives Don the all-time futility record all to his lonesome, currently 19 months, 19 days (and counting). Michelle had Scotty on her list 3 years ago, marking the 5th person she had listed at one time who has died this year.