This is a unique opportunity for Members of Inside Trek only. Membership does have its privileges! As a subscriber, you may send me your Email questions and comments, and I promise to answer them to the best of my knowledge. The most intriguing Emails will be posted to this site. And, since Inside Trek is an ongoing enterprise (oops, pardon the pun!), the Email postings will remain even after all the Log Entries have been revealed. If your Email is selected, we will leave it posted for others to read far into the future.
0210.13

Dear Susan,

Thank you very much! The Chess set arrived in perfect condition. Not only was the chess set impressive but the box it arrived in was very impressive too!


Thanks again,

Erik Schmid
0205.20

Subject: Sensors are detecting a Starship in my area...!

Hi Susan..! Yes, the USS Enterprise has arrived safely..I have been searching for a beautiful Enterprise model for my home..I certainly have found it!..Susan as I was unpacking it I was saying to myself.."Oh my God! I think that I've died and gone to heaven!"...The fact that it belonged to you makes it even more special..

Thank you so much Susan..!

Keep on Trekkin'

--- Mike ---*

0102.02

Dear Susan,

Just wanted to say what a thrill it is to find out where you are and that you are doing well. I think that it is cool that you have a website, that in my opinion, is one of the best "Trek" sites out there. I grew up reading your books on Star Trek, and always thought what a special person you must be. I especially have enjoyed the book "Star Trek Speaks". It kept me going through the syndication years (before there was another Star Trek series). It is probably the most prized book I have of all my Trek books.

I was at the "Grand Slam" convention in Pasadena in 2001, but missed your talk. Will you be attending another "Grand Slam"? I would love to meet you and just shake your hand. At the 2001 show I found a TNG press kit that you,

D.C. Fontana, and Melinda Snodgrass had autographed. The ladies that I purchased it from had no clue who you all were, but I was thrilled. I consider you, along with Bob Justman, Matt Jeffries, and the like, the true "heroes" that made "Star Trek" what it is.

Thanks for telling your story, and thanks for having a great site. I hope that I get a chance to meet you.

Your fans in Bakersfield.

Daryl and Jennifer Curtis
0012.15

Dear Susan,

I just finished the last installment .... you did a wonderful job. I hated that it was the last .. I have enjoyed it over these months ... but all good things must come to an end sometime ... You were brave and forthright with the facts and your emotions throughout the series ......... you did the right thing in telling your story ....... and the right thing is always preferable to the expedient thing .... in the end ....... history will judge you honorably and rightfully so .....

Ron from Oklahoma City
0012.01

Dear Susan--

I just read the latest installment. My first reaction is stunned silence and a strong desire to offer condolences--fully aware that such notions are 9 years too late. I am *so* sorry that it all happened that way; I can't imagine it being much worse. Certainly, putting these pages out there must be part of your healing process. We all want the truth to be told *somewhere*, even if it is for a limited audience. Just so it exists. Your writing definitely conveyed the emotions and the chaotic feeling of that time.

What more can I say?

Sending a belated virtual hug anyway,

Lee Staton
Dear Susan:

Your memoir has brought back so many memories. One of your chapters mentions that "Roddenberry" was often misspelled or mangled, and I knew I had the evidence to prove it! Finally got an old file box out and found the ticket from Gene's July 30, 1976 appearance at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana. At the event they insisted on tearing the ticket, but at least were kind enough to leave the "Roddenburg" intact as I asked. A friend gave me the top of her ticket, so even though they're different colors you see the whole thing. My scan is attached, and you are free to use it or not as you wish, of course. I knew there was a reason I'd saved it for 24 years!

I hope you and your readers enjoy it!

Lee Staton
0011.15

What follows is a very moving letter I received from Eric Stillwell, a member of "Inside Trek" whom I've known since he was a teenager. Eric worked in the "Star Trek" offices for many years, first as a P.A. (production assistant), later as script coordinator. He also wrote one of TNG's most popular episodes, "Yesterday's Enterprise." Eric continues to write while serving as executive assistant to Michael Piller, who now has his own production company.

Dear Susan,

It's been heart wrenching reading these past few entries, but Entry Twenty-Two really tore my heart out. Having worked across the hall from you for several years, I knew and experienced many of the things you have written about, including the gatherings in Gene's office for birthday parties and such (I will never forget the time I was invited to view "Yesterday's Enterprise" for the first time with Gene and the staff in his office - no doubt something you arranged. The memory is something I cherish and owe to you with much gratitude, because I had idolized Gene since the age of 12 and could barely believe I was watching "my" episode with him n his office!), but now I feel as though I may have been insensitive to you at times when the actual events were unfolding, often without the knowledge of Gene's failing condition, which was only known to the rest of us in dribs and drabs of rumor and gossip.

Reading this story from your perspective has been like and out-of-body experience for me. It's like reading a history book and knowing that you were a participant in the events that are unfolding, but reading it as if it's happening for the very first time. It's surreal.

I was in Chicago when Gene died and I will never forget that day. It was right before a big Star Trek convention. The flight to Chicago had not been extraordinary in any way. But shortly after we arrived in Chicago, dark clouds gathered over the skyline, and as we drove into the city, a rain storm with incredible lightning and thunder broke loose like hell's fury, and I remember thinking to myself the universe had suddenly become very angry about something.

A short while later, after I had checked into my hotel room, the telephone rang. It was ["Star Trek" producer] Merri Howard calling from Los Angeles. I wondered to myself, what could possibly have gone wrong to cause Merri Howard to be calling me from Los Angeles to my hotel room in Chicago? "Gene passed away this afternoon." I didn't want you to hear about it from the TV or radio," she said. My heart sank and I didn't know what to say, but I knew instantly why the universe seemed so angry that dark day in Chicago. I have never lost a parent, sibling, close relative or friend to the grim reaper (knock on wood, I've been very fortunate), so Gene's death hit me very hard. Star Trek had become more than a hobby, it was my life, my job, my religion (in as much as it made me a secular humanist). From age 12, Star Trek had had a fundamental impact on the direction of my life and my world view. Gene Roddenberry had been my idol. And when he died, a part of me died with him. And I cried and cried and cried - very much alone in my hotel room in Chicago.

I survived the convention by telling the fans (many of whom had not heard the news until I announced it), that Gene would have preferred that we all celebrate Star Trek and his life rather than to mourn his death. Still, it was a very sad weekend and I hated being away from the office for the extra days I had planned to be in Chicago.

When I returned to the office, I remember the gloom that seemed to hang over the Hart Building and the feeling that we had lost more than Gene Roddenberry. It seemed to me that a certain purity (perhaps the soul) that had always been part of "Star Trek" was also lost - and now we were moving down an uncertain new path. To me, it never felt the same again without Gene, which is one of the reasons I decided to leave TNG after the 5th season.

I apologize for bringing up sad memories. I just wanted you to know that I've been reliving those events myself from reading your written words and wanted you to know how touching and heart-wrenching it has been. I hope it has been cathartic for you.

--Eric
0003.30

Susan,
Thanks. I appreciate your contributions to "Star Trek" history. I remember buying Starlog at a time while I was breaking into radio in New Mexico, to read your monthly column on the upcoming Star Trek: The Motion Picture. They captured some nice moments leading up to that film. With the loss of Mark Lenard, I appreciate one column that you did about his appearence as the Klingon Commander. I still of own a copy of The Making Of Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

I do feel that there are some personal details that I don't need to know about Mr. Roddenberry that you mentioned in your postings online, but I also recognize that you have to report what happened because it was true. It is also to your credit that none of the personal details were sensationalized in any way. I can appreciate the line that you have to walk.

"Star Trek" is a sucess story because there have always been people who help and contributed to its growth and its popularity. I count you very much as one of those in the forefront who was there when Trek was going through the rough process of rebirth. I'm also glad you had the pleasure of seeing its success again as well.

Best of Luck, I'd love to do an interview to post on my site with you any time you'd lke. Ironically, this weekend, I get to interview two cast members from "Earth Final Conflict" at a NY Con. Leave to Gene Roddenberry to have a sucessful new show after his death.

Thanks again,

Tony Tellado

Sci-Fi Talk Home Page

0003.21

Hello:

Can you please forward this message to Susan Sackett? I know you probably get this from time to time, but this is a little different, as when I was a 7th grader (or some time around there) Susan called me and asked if she could add my letter to her book Letters to Star Trek, and I just wanted to say hello after all these years. Susan, if you get this, this is what that 7th grader (listed in the back of your book) grew up to become:

http://www.cybrary1999.com/rob.jpg

And though I lost interest in Trek when it (for me) devolved into "diplomats in space" and made the entire universe seem very uninteresting, not mysterious at all, and repetitive, my interest in Space: 1999 was rekindled a few years ago (still love the sets and visuals and eerie mood of some of the first series episodes), and I went on to build the premiere Space: 1999 web site, the Space: 1999 Cybrary (cyber library) which ran for three years until this January when it became too popular for me to continue with (so now I'll turn it into a CD-ROM). I'm also Co-Chair of the Space: 1999 convention to be held in New York this September, and I built the convention web site at:

http://www.cybrary1999.com/con2000/

Anyway, Susan, as one of "your kids" it's nice to finally see you after all these years, and I hope you're doing well. Getting a call from you at that age and then actually seeing my name in print in the complimentary book you sent me was very thrilling for a creative child growing up trapped in a boring California agricultural community.

Best wishes to you in all your future endeavors,

Robert Ruiz
0002.10

Wendie - Pasadena, CA

Susan,

Can you tell us what you are doing now?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wendie,

Thanks for asking! You mean besides devoting all my energy to Insidetrek? Well, let's see? I spend a lot of time taking care of my elderly (93 years old) mother; I moved away from California after the big earthquake in 1994, although I still live in the Southwest, and I enjoy taking drives through this beautiful part of the country; I'm very active in the Humanist community (something Gene introduced me to), and I write movie reviews for my local Mensa newsletter. I also enjoy playing trivia at a local TGI Friday's with a friend who's a tough competitor; I have a screenplay or two up my sleeve that I hope one day will be made into a movie, and I love to take walks with my Golden Retriever. And that's just for starters!