Most Star Trek fans will tell you that either The Wrath of Khan or The Voyage Home (a.k.a. the one with the whales) are the two best Star Trek movies featuring the original cast. However, I would make a damn compelling case for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.
Besides being the last story featuring the entire original series cast, the movie also commemorated the 25th anniversary of The Original Series. In very typical Star Trek fashion, the story mirrored real-world events. This time, it was the end of the Cold War. Due to a massive environmental catastrophe, the Klingon Empire forced to take the first steps toward peace with the Federation. Captain Kirk—whose son was killed by Klingons in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock—has immense difficulty navigating this “brave new world.” He talks about fearing the future because it means the end of history as he knows it.
In this pivotal scene from the film, Kirk admits the core of his conflict: he was terrified of the future because the removal of the Neutral Zone meant he had to let go of his defining enmity. As he puts it: “I was used to hating Klingons”.
This past weekend, I was in Madison helping Kid 1 move into his new apartment for the coming school year. Saturday morning, X1 and I went to Duck Donuts, which has quietly become my favorite donut shop on planet Earth. The gravity of the whole situation was unfolding in front of me as I was enjoying that magnificent combination of coffee and donuts. 
The truth is, things have actually been pretty civil for about the last six years, ever since Kid One contracted COVID early on in 2020. In fact, he was the first person in his county in South Carolina to test positive for the virus, and the first child in the entire state for whom they couldn’t contact-trace the source. He and his mom have a couple of ideas about where he picked it up, but I guess we’ll never know for sure.
Even though things have been relatively civil since then, considering we’ve been divorced for about 13 or 14 years, it feels weird that roughly half of that post-divorce time has now passed. But like Captain Kirk, I had simply gotten used to hating X1 for a long time.
It still feels like a strange, uncharted unknown—maybe not “exciting” in the traditional sense, but entirely new territory. It is deeply odd to share a history with someone that stretches back nearly 30 years, and yet feel like we are also kind of strangers nowadays.
It’s funny how that works. We get so accustomed to our status quo—even if it’s a difficult or combative one—that when things finally change for the better, it still throws us off balance.
Getting out of your regular physical space provides a chance to just process and sort things out. As I sat in that hotel hot tub, it occurred to me that the last time I was there, I was chatting with Veronica. There has been such a great deal of change in my life just over the last three months that sometimes it’s almost a little too much to keep up with. Stepping outside of my familiar setting gives me a chance to put it all into perspective.
But that constant shift is also grounding for me. As well as things are going right now, I know that an unexpected turn of events could completely change the landscape. And I don’t think that’s me being overly guarded; it’s just me being realistic.
I tried desperately to get back into town early on Sunday, in the hopes to see Sierra at least for a couple hours before i had to pick up Kid 2. It didn’t happen. But we had a really good chat throughout the day.
Part of a series: While Captain Kirk wrestled with the emotional weight of a changing era, navigating the unknown often takes different tactical approaches. If you missed how Commander Sisko handles the unpredictable chess match of the universe, catch up on the first half of this conversation: Everything I Needed to Know About Uncertainty, I learned from Benjamin Sisko.
Rebuilding a life takes grit, consistency, and a lot of ‘Option C’ thinking. Having crossed the 1,000-day milestone, I’m now charting the territory beyond. The mission remains the same: No glitz. Just the work. New to the blog? Start your journey here to see the blueprint and the ‘Tricorder’ perspective behind the rebuild.
Today’s post is inspired by the WordPress Daily Prompt. While I’ve taken the topic in my own direction for the Road beyond 1,000 Days, you can find more responses to today’s prompt HERE.
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- My Own Undiscovered Country
- Everything I Needed to Know About Uncertainty , I Learned From Benjamin Sisko
- Becoming The Old Man 
- The Quiet Mirror
- Typos, Time Capsules, and the Art of Letting a Post Be
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The article “My Own Undiscovered Country” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob.
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