Transcript follows. The letter was found at the blog of award-winning visual effects artist Doug Drexler.
Transcript
Dear Mr Stewart
I am writing to thank you for all the pleasure that you gave my son [redacted] in your role as Jean-Luc Picard, Captain of the USS Enterprise.
For the past ten years [he] had been severely disabled by the inexorable effects of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy - a disease that slowly degenerates all muscle tissue. [He] had great courage and refused to give in to his worsening disabilities. Inevitably his heart muscles became so weak that they could function no longer and [he] died peacefully on the evening of his 20th birthday, 30/12/91.
His great passion was Science Fiction and while a fan of the original "Star Trek" he greatly prefered "Star Trek The Next Generation". He had of course seen you before, as "Karla" in the Smiley stories, as "Sejanus" in I Claudius and of course as "Gurney" in Dune, I think he was quite bucked to see you as captain on the bridge of the Enterprise.
All through last year Wednesday evening was his highlight of the week, his excitement being matched only by his anger if "Star Trek TNG" was cancelled. I think that in his imagination he was there with you on the bridge, free of any disability, sharing to the full in all your adventures - he never missed one.
Please forgive me for writing to you this was but I felt that it was important for you to know that while "Star Trek TNG" might be regarded by some as trivial light entertainment it gives real pleasure and has great significance for others.
Once again my thanks for all the pleasure that you gave my son during his short life - and please, if you can, pass on my thanks to the remainder of the cast and everyone involved in the production of the programme.
Yours sincerely
8 comments:
Wow. I really love it when people take the time to tell others about the impact they've had on them. It's a beautiful letter.
Well Patti, I just wanted to say how meaningful your comment is to me personally. For the past several minutes I've struggled with a petulant reminder of the human condition, that is a dull toothache in the right side of my mouth. But with your kind words I sincerely believe my struggle may lessen. Thank you.
You're welcome. And in return, your thoughtful words have improved my bad hair day. :)
i feel good after reading this.. there is much good in letting people know what difference they've made in our lives. for all we know mr stewart may have had moments of questioning why he's done what he did with TNG. touching another person's life with some light is never a waste. :)
What do you mean "Wondering what he did with TNG"? It is still regarded, almost 2 decades after it went off the air, as the best "Trek" every done and Patrick Stewart himself has said, on numerous occasions, how priviliged he feels to have been part of it.
It is still regarded, almost 2 decades after it went off the air, as the best "Trek" every done
Um. By some, I suppose.
oh no, here we go . . . .
A lot of people give the Star Trek franchise grief for being fluff, but when you think about it, many of the stories could have been placed in any setting. It was, after all, about us. It showed an optimism that many of us needed at the time (and could probably use today). Sadly, science fiction rarely translates well to TV or movies. But Star Trek paved the way for a lot of writers with good ideas and stories.
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Thanks!