I've known for a few days, but it's finally on the main news sites: James Doohan, known to Star Trek fans as the feisty engineer Scotty, has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. According to the Associated Press, Doohan's agent confirmed on Tuesday that the 84-year-old actor had been diagnosed within the last couple months. He has also suffered for some time with Parkinson's disease, diabetes and fibrosis, the latter due to chemical exposure during the Second World War when he was a captain in the Royal Canadian Artillery
Only one of the original Star Trek cast has died so far (DeForest Kelly, who played Dr. McCoy), but they are all getting on in years (can you believe William Shatner is 70?!?), and time is eventually going to take all of them away from us.
I hate it, even though there's nothing I can do about it. These people were part of an adventure that grabbed my attention at age 8, and hasn't let go since that time. It breaks my heart to hear such news about an actor who has brought so much joy into my life.
Scotty was always a riot to watch on screen -- who can forget the time he got himself and a Kelvan drunk in "By Any Other Name". Or his moaning on and on about his engines, his "poor, wee bairins". And he always chose to get romantically entangled with women who were either loved by gods, possessed by aliens, or murdered by ancient evils. He should have stuck with his engines... 
I'm very glad he's finally getting his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 31st. Many people don't realize he's Canadian (born in Vancouver, raised in Sarnia), and fought during the D-Day invasion, where he lost a finger in battle. The man served his country, then went on to serve the imagination of millions of people.
He's going to be in my thoughts...and no doubt, the thoughts of many others as well.
