Groucho Marx and Gene Roddenberry

Two events today worth noting posthumously: The first is the anniversary of the death of legendary GROUCHO MARX. I saw him in person once circa 1969 when he was appearing on the Merv Griffin Show (then taping in New York) and I was in the audience. At the end of his segment, he unexpectedly walked down into the audience and up the aisle to the exit, and he walked right past where I was sitting, close enough to touch! The second is the birthday of GENE RODDENBERRY, creator of STAR TREK. I saw him speak in person at MIT in Cambridge MA circa the mid-seventies thanks to Cecilia A. Young who spotted tickets for sale and grabbed them before they sold out! On stage with him was a huge sculpture of The USS Enterprise made by MIT students entirely out of intact beer cans (a gift from the Aeronautical Engineering Department)! Both gentlemen were huge creative inspirations for me, and I honor them on this day.