He stood on the shoulders of other great engineers of his homeland. Men like James Watt, John McAdam, and James Dewar. He attended the Academy, but left midway to find his true calling, and after a few brief stints on lesser vessels, became Chief Engineer on the most distinguished ship in the fleet...NCC-1701.
I always knew Scotty was the baddest ass on the ship. I could tell he was my father's favorite, too, and as shared admirations go, we could have done worse. Sure, Kirk got to boss everyone around and always got the alien poontang. Sure, Spock was probably smarter, Sulu got to drive, Checkhov got to shoot, and Bones....well, Bones didn't really have anything cool to do. But these guys were all lightweights. Monty Scott could pull warp 9.5 out of the cores designed for a measly warp 8. Scotty could drink 'em all under the table. Jefferies tube clogged? Scotty is on the motherfucker. Eight to beam up, you say? And you're under fire and can't hold still? This kilt-wearing bastard has got that shit.
Really, who else would you want on your away team? Sulu? Please.
So, this man, who had a small but definite impact on my choice of career, is gone. Maybe there is an Elysian Fields somewhere for engineers and mechanics, and if there is, I hope he's there. He will be missed.
James Doohan 1920-2005