Dickson: Star Trek fan goes to FanX

SALT LAKE CITY — You’ve heard the saying, “Never meet your heroes.” I’ve always understood that to mean that you should never meet the people you admire because they will surely disappoint you.

I will have to disagree with this adage after today. Today, I met actor Michael Dorn. He plays Worf in Star Trek Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Picard.

I have loved his character, his Klingon pride and courage, his honorable ways in both battle and life, for many years, but never more than the last year when I binge watched Deep Space Nine with my husband.

Aaron has been a Star Trek fan since he was a young boy. These characters were his friends, and now they are mine.

He had the chance to meet William Shatner and sit on the bridge of the Enterprise several years ago. Aaron agrees with me, that meeting your heroes is not only magical but life-affirming.

Art in motion

I went with my family to FanX today. If you were anywhere downtown Salt Lake City the last three days, you likely saw people walking, getting on Trax or stopping at taco trucks dressed like characters from Marvel, Star Wars, Star Trek, and 100 other anime and video games.

Seeing the detail they put into their costumes, sometimes whole families dressed to form a famous group, was like watching art move. And the love people expressed to each other! I would stop someone and ask for a picture. They didn’t act annoyed or interrupted. They were as warm and welcoming as if we were old friends.

I know to people who have never been to FanX, some of this might seem strange. Think of it this way.

When you go to Disneyland and see Mickey or Snow White, we all know those are employees being paid to be there. At FanX, the characters are every bit as awesome, but they’re all fans, thousands of them. Instead of being paid, they come for the love of the characters and are as excited to see each other as you are to see them.

Related: How is FanX 2023 affected by the Hollywood strike?

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