It was a snowy day in Dallas the day that Leonard Nimoy died. That’s how I’ll remember it.

I’ll also remember feeling like a close friend just died. Honestly. I just found out, and silly as it may seem, I could cry a little.

Like so many others, I grew up watching Star Trek. Before there was any “Next Generation”, before it was necessary to say “the Original Series”, I watched Star Trek every afternoon for years. I don’t claim to be a scholar of the show, but through sheer repetition of episodes I know it pretty well.

The “Big Three” on that show — Kirk, Spock, and McCoy – played by Shatner, Nimoy, and Kelly — brought a compelling humanity to every episode. Without a doubt, the character of Spock is the greatest science fiction character of all time, and it was Nimoy’s nuanced and deep portrayal of Spock that made the character complete. When Spock mind-melded with the Horta, you believed the Horta was real. When he struggled with his powerful but locked-away emotions, you felt it. Nimoy’s talent made that possible.

Today I will remember Leonard Nimoy, the greatest SF actor of all time.