FIAWOL

[morgandawn]

I have blogged about fan made scrapbooks before. This weekend, I helped sort a fan friend’s papers (she passed away in November). In the bottom of a pile, I found her Star Trek themed notebook/scrapbook. On the first page she writes that the year is 1982: "I attended [several Star Trek] conventions. I had fun, purchased memorabilia, watched the bloopers but I have lost most of the souvenirs including a tribble…..I do not have fellow fans or others to share - now I am a lone fan. I am dedicating this book (which I intend to fill with pictures and autographs, ST quotes and personal memories) to Star Trek and what ST means to my life. I wish to not lose and forget something I enjoy so much.”

I do not know if my friend - Stacy Doyle - ever found her lost tribble. But I can say that 30 years later she was still in love with fandom and had made lifelong fan friends. For her fandom was a way of life (FIAWOL) and not just a teenage phase or passing hobby.

So in her words (and the words of so many other Star Trek fans): Star Trek Lives!

I may post excerpts from her notebook from time time. These excerpts are being used with her family’s permission.

#fandom#fandom love#fandom is a way of life#fiawol#fanlore#fandom history#Star Trek history#imagine the loneliness of being a new fan in the days before the Internet#digital preservation