Hosted Two DeForest Kelley Fans for Four Days
This morning I said goodbye to great new friends. Until four days ago I knew them primarily as Facebook friends. Ashley Cox is from Georgia, Nina Alicia Martinez is from Texas. The two full days went by so fast we felt we were at warp six. The first half day was long (for them)... we didn't retire for the night until 10:30 my time (12:30 Nina's time and 1:30 Ashley's time).
Thursday we drove to Seattle to visit Paul Allen's MoPOP Museum (Museum of Popular Culture). We visited the sci fi and Star Trek exhibits and a guitar exhibit (the history of bringing increased sound to guitars). We didn't go up in the Space Needle because the sky was overcast and they wouldn't have been able to see anything.
Thursday afternoon upon our return and all day Friday we spent looking through my De archives. They spotted 200+ photos that they had never seen anywhere online, so they were in seventh heaven taking snapshots of them with their phones. We also watched several of De's non-Trek portrayals that they had never seen before or been able to find online: Northwest Passage (Death Rides the Wind), APACHE UPRISING and WACO (two AC Lyles westerns), and a couple of conventions. We also ran across my De Kelley-centric standup comedy routines. I didn't even remember that one of them had been videotaped--and I was surprised by how well I did in it!
They met the goats, held the chicks, and we visited Point Defiance and took 5 Mile Drive there, where we saw at least six raccoons alongside the road waiting for someone to throw them food. (There were signs everywhere saying DON'T FEED THE ANIMALS. The raccoons were stationed right by them! No, we didn't feed them--but we did film them. You can see the videos on my Facebook page.)
This morning just before Nina and Ashley left I let them put on De's infamous blue and white striped shirt. That blew them away.
I didn't keep count of the number of times Nina ended up in tears, but it was more times than Ashley and I did. But Ash and I had our moments, too.
Nina tears up when she's thrilled, sad, and touched. Reading Walter Koenig's assessment of De started the ball rolling. Getting a few little gifts from me added to it. And when I read a letter that I had written to De a year after his passing, we all ended up in tears.
In short, we had a heartfelt, fabulous time. Every last minute was memorable.
But here's the kicker. When we got to the airport this morning (early) we decided to hang out in the cellphone lot for 45 minutes because none of us wanted the visit to end. That's when Ashley let me know how dead-set against this trip to meet me her mother and a few other loved ones had been, since they don't know me from Adam (or Eve).
They regaled her with all of the nightmare scenarios you can throw at someone to get them to come to their senses, but Ashley stood her ground. I guess it was a week-long battle royal that culminated when Ashley said she was going--period.
That's when Ashley's mom emailed and requested a phone conversation with me. (Ashley's aunt had called me several weeks earlier to screen me and felt comfortable, but when Ashley's parents couldn't get her to cancel the flight, her worried mom asked for a chat. Of course, I readily agreed.)
I assured her that my SUV is in excellent condition, with brand new tires, that I am an excellent driver, that I don't drink, smoke or do drugs, and that the Kelley's trusted me with their home, their car and their legacies.
After Ashley told me of the protracted battle at home, I said to her, "I know it probably made you angry--and that they probably sounded angry, too -- but I want you to realize what it really was that was coming at you. It was fear and fierce mother love. Most conscientious mothers would do exactly the same thing. You're a young woman, and there are too many sick, cruel people bent on preying on women. Your family doesn't want you to ever encounter them."
My mom told me one time that it's a fallacy that women are only pregnant for nine months. "Women are pregnant forever. For the rest of our lives, we focus on the well-being of our children, no matter how old they get or how far away they live. Our hearts no longer belong to us; they belong to our children."
I have never married or been a mother, but I "get it." I hope Ashley does, too... 
Final Note: These two, fine young people will carry De's spirit and legacy forward long after I'm shoveled off this mortal coil so I feel relieved that his reputation and legacy are in good hands.
Wow, amazing! Sounds like so much fun!