kathleen_dailey

Paul Gadzikowski (scarfman) has reported the death of his mother, Claire Gadzikowski (known in fandom as Claire Gabriel). Though the news wasn't unexpected, it's still inexpressibly sad. Claire was an exceptionally talented writer, and she was a true friend to me. Paul and his siblings have my deepest sympathy.

( Cut for length: Remembering Claire )

TLDR: Claire was my friend for many years, and she was the principal beta reader for almost every piece of fan fiction that I've written. She was my example, my teacher, my critic, and my inspiration. I trusted her opinion and her judgment implicitly, and not only on fannish matters. Although in recent years she wasn't able to read and answer email as frequently as she once did, we remained friends. I will miss her immensely.

I see that it's been many months since I posted--so much for all my good intentions. But "Unification III" captured my interest for obvious reasons. I'm wondering about the likelihood of my writing a canon-adjacent (rather than strictly canon-compliant) fic set in Disco's present timeline. (At least I've saved the ep on the PVR, so it's there for a one-off or a post-ep should the need and/or desire arise.)

How nice, and how surprising, to see the fannish coinage used canonically. And how especially good it was to remember Claire Gabriel's story in New Voyages, "Ni Var" (and its original version, "The Thousandth Man"), and Leonard Nimoy's introduction to "Ni Var": "A Vulcan term referring to the duality of things: two who are one, two diversities that are a unity, two halves that come together to make a whole.”

Yeah, I could probably bring myself to revisit that concept.

It's hard to believe, but it's been 25 years since I wrote my LOC on Simple Gifts to Claire Gabriel. If I hadn't written to her, not only would I have missed out on a warm and enduring friendship, but I would never have had the impetus (or the courage) to write fiction. My debt to Claire and her writing is pretty much unrepayable.