in which a text is received and a phone call is made

I'm up to my neck in Memories of the Future Volume 2 work, but I wanted to take a minute to share something cool that happened yesterday…

The familiar chirp of an Original Series communicator came out of my Blackberry, announcing the arrival of a text message.

I thumbed it a couple times and read a message from Brent. "Jonathan is trying to get in touch with you. Give him a call when you can." A smile spread across my face as I selected the phone number and clicked the appropriate buttons to call it.

I put the phone to my ear (funny how moving this little device from palm to ear turns it from computer to phone, isn't it?) and listened to it ring. Just as I thought I'd have to leave a message, a familiar voice came through: "This is Jonathan," he said.

"You know, I can tell by the way you answer the phone that you used to be cool," I said.

He paused. I could feel him smiling on the other end of the line. "That's such a great story, W," he said, softly.

"My kids have heard it so much, they now tell me that I used to be cool," I said.

He laughed and said, "You know what, though? I bet they're right. I can tell that you used to be cool."

Even though he couldn't see, I dramatically clutched at my heart. "Gah! Now I know how it feels to be on the other side of that!"

We laughed together for a long time, and then we talked about a lot of things that I wish I could share, but probably shouldn't. We're getting together next week to have lunch and catch up. I can't wait.

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51 thoughts on “in which a text is received and a phone call is made”

  2. It warms my heart to know that you all still stay in touch. I grew up with the show, and, yes, even cried at the finale. So it’s almost reassuring that my “other” family still gets along and sees each every now and then.
    BTW, I’ve been borrowing the DVDs from a friend and am currently making my way through season 3. While watching season 2, I kept thinking, “It gets better. It gets better…”. I hope you continue through the series with your Memories of the Future schtuff.

  3. I can tell just by reading this that Jonathan’s cool.
    It’s probably a pipe dream, but any chance of a special MOTFcast featuring Jonathan, Brent or LeVar as special guests? I’d love to hear that boisterous Frakes laugh following all of your jokes.

  4. I love it when old friends get in touch out of the blue. Happened to me last weekend, before I went back up to college. Saw one of my oldest friends from high school (who I hadn’t seen since she brought her newborn son over to my mom’s house last March, right after they got out of the hospital) and her sister. Got their new numbers, which was good timing, because I was one of the first to see the pictures of her sister’s baby when it was born the next morning.
    I hope someday soon I get the chance to be cool, so my kids can tell me that I used to be cool. We don’t tell my mom that, though, because she still is cool. How can a person who asks their 22 year old daughter if she’s got a copy of Dark Side of the Moon handy when said daughter says she’s watching The Wizard of Oz NOT be cool?

  9. This made me say “awwww” out loud. No wonder my children think I am a little bit bent when I make noises at my computer monitor.
    On a slightly different note: Did you see Jonathan’s episode of Criminal Minds last week? OMG DUDE! His character physically made me sick to my stomach and I thought I was going to vomit. I was nauseous for hours afterwards. Your role was creepy enough but I can totally handle watching violence against adults being depicted. It doesn’t bother me. But what he had to do (not going to say anything in case it is a spoiler), even if it was a very short appearance, seriously icky. He did a friggen amazing job!
    Best line ever said on Criminal Minds was in that episode “She was doomed from the beginning (names ways of being doomed and then)…like red shirt Star Trek doomed.” I gigglesnorted.

  10. Not wanting to pry, just curious. Is the lunch just a catch-up lunch or is it an ulterior motive lunch that might end up generating one of those “I’ve done something awesome today but I can’t tell you what” posts in about 6 months from now? 🙂

  11. Umm … maybe? 🙂
    One of the ways I'm truly lucky is that just about everything I do has a chance to turn into one of those "I've done something awesome today but can't tell you what" experiences.

  12. In which @wilW cements his position as Chief Overlord of Infotease, Inc.
    If I got a dollar, or even a picture of a unicorn, every time you said something along the lines of “we talked about cool/awesome/hawesome/fantastic/exciting/ZOMGWTFSQUEE!!! things that I’d love to tell you about but probably shouldn’t/can’t because of NDA/won’t because of [insert relevant universe-ending paradox here]”, I’d either be very rich, or have a very cool bedroom wallpapered in colourful mythical beasts.
    I mean, I get to do cool stuff all the time in MY job. I even have meetings with People Who Are Important. But do you see ME faffing on about it to my fans? OK, so aside from the fact I have no fans…
    I guess your training in the Dark Arts has paid off, though, since I keep coming back in the hopes of a followup with more Exciting Revelations. Sigh.

  19. Ah, a meeting with Mr. Frakes. Hmmm, could this mean a return of the evil team on Leverage? I noticed that he directed last night’s episode, so maybe he is directing another (fingers crossed) and it will feature the evil team. Personally, I’d love to see a return of Colin Mason. You know, for a guy who’s philosophy is “don’t be a dick”, you sure excel at playing one on TV. I wish I had that kind of outlet for my ‘dick’ tendencies. Until later, stay cool, or how you used to be…or something like that.

  20. Stories like these are my favorite parts of your blog. Not the “check out the cool stuff I’m doing” entries, not the “geeking out about this or that” stuff (but those run a close second)…
    …it’s the stories about you with your friends, and how clearly happy you are when you talk to them. Because it makes me think of my friends and then I call them and we get all silly, and everything in the world seems great.
    Your smiles are contagious, Wil. Just wanted you to know that. 🙂

  21. As I read this blog I felt my fingers and toes crossing….I hope you and Johnny won’t make me keep them this way for too long.

  23. It was cool seeing Jonathan in “Criminal Minds” recently. I really hope something cool is coming down the pipe involving you + Brent, Jonathan, and/or LeVar.
    I had the fortunate opportunity to meet Jonathan at Trek Expo. My birth mom gave me as a beleated birthday gift the chance to get my picture with him, as well as one with Christina Hendricks (Firefly, Mad Men). Yes, I think I did SQUEEEE! a little 🙂

  25. ..and I’m reading this as I’m watching Jonathan in the opening scenes of “First Contact”. The pleasant confluence of events is making me smile right along with you. 🙂 Can’t wait to see what comes of your conversation.

  28. That is so great for you!! Isn’t it funny how age brings all of us closer together? I sure hope you have a wonderful time catching up. There is nothing in the world as great as getting together w/ old friends:)

  29. Shoe. On the other foot it is. And fits you comfortably, it does, because old friends have made it so.
    And also this reader, smiles from that, she does.

  33. I just saw Johnathan in the Leverage episode “The Snow Job”. I freaked when I saw him. He didn’t speak. He had a neck brace on. It was funny, his reactions to Tim Hutton. LOL.

  34. This post made me smile. We saw Frakes with Sirtis at the Star Trek convention in Chicago a couple of years ago, and he seemed like he’d be a blast to have lunch with! I can’t believe I missed him on Criminal Minds. I’m always on the lookout for Trek alum on TV. 🙂

  36. Nice to hear you all stay in touch. It’s good that you’ve developed close friendships. I know I’ve felt that way vicariously over the years.

  38. It’s funny – I can hear Frakes’ voice saying that! And I have the TOS comm chirp as my text alert signal on my Nokia – in fact, I decided “hey, that’s a cool idea for my text alert” after hearing it go off on your phone during one of the Futurecasts… 😀

  40. I don’t have that TOS chirp on my phone, but it’s not because I don’t like it. It’s because I hang out with too many geeks. I’m often in the sort of places where more than one person will check her phone if that chirp goes off. And on game night? Fuggedaboutit.

  41. I just went and grabbed it to go along with my TOS “Fight Song” ringtone….
    it’s great when someone almost recognizes it, sadly, it’s usually from The Cable Guy that they know it 🙁

  43. Wil,
    It is great to see that you two can still talk and laugh after spending that much time together at work. It is also great to see that you are ok with older people being currently cool.
    FG

  45. @DJC: thanks for sharing the link. I remembered the story, but coulnd’t remember the specifics.
    My wife and I were watching Leverage the other night and I backed it up on our Tivo four times and finally had to tell her that Frakes was directing the episode! I was quite pleased to see that he also directed an ep of Dollhouse, I either didn’t catch that one or missed that fact.

  46. Ok so now I really want the communicator chirp sound effect lol. Sprint does not appear to have it in its ring tone selection. Any one know of an easy place to find it?…perferably virus free 🙂

  47. It’s very presumptuous of me to ask a favour in my first post here, but when you meet with Jonathan, could you please give him a smack on the head for me? Tell him it’s from a very disappointed fan of the original Thunderbirds. Why make a Spy Kids knock-off instead of a full-on action movie? WHYYYYYY?

  49. Sometimes, I do an Awesome™ thing, but it's never released or for some other reason I simply *can't* talk about it.
    I actually do my best to follow-up on those Infotease posts, but I don't always connect the resolution back to the initial mention.
    If someone with a burning desire for closure and a lot of time to invest in tracking down unresolved Awesome™ Things will collect them and give me links in a comment or something, I'll do my best to wrap things up.

  50. You can always do what I did; buy the CD of Original Series sound effects – albeit I bought it when it was released however many years ago, so it’s probably long since deleted.
    Sad, but true: I coveted a flip-top phone for years so I could have a phone that was opened like the Original Series communicators. I finally got one a few years ago, and now it plays the ‘chirrup’ whenever I flip it open and the boatswain’s whistle whenever it gets a text message. Geek nirvana. 🙂

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