Music Monday: Stand By Me

This weekend, my youngest daughter and I attended Comiccon, Ottawa's popular pop-culture event, where folks can meet some of their sci-fi, action, and comic-book heros—and where many people dress up as their favourite heroes. It was the first time that I've been to such an event, not counting the Star Trek convention that I attended in my early 20s.

Indeed, there were several Star Trek favourites at Comiccon, including Johnathan Frakes (Commander William Riker), Marina Sirtis (Councillor Deanna Troi), and Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura).

Wil Wheaton was also there, though these days he's more famous for being himself than he was for being Wesley Crusher.

I didn't see any of my Star Trek icons this weekend—we were there for my daughter, and she was only interested in seeing Billie Piper, who played Rose Tyler on Doctor Who. She has been clinging to the photo of her and Ms. Piper ever since.

My daughter did express an interest in seeing Wil Wheaton, but we never did. I did, however, get a chance to try The Clocktower Pub's tribute wheat ale, Hefe Wheaton, which was quite delicious, but we didn't see Mr. Wheaton himself (though, he was in the next partition, taking photos with fans, while we lined up for photos with Billie Piper).

My daughter asked me if she could see the movie that shot Wil Wheaton to stardom, the 1986 film, "Stand By Me." Sure, I said: we'd look for it on Netflicks, perhaps watch it this weekend. The next day, as we were shopping in the Glebe, fortune had it that we saw the DVD of the film in a rummage bin. Five dollars.

I had forgotten how good Wil Wheaton was in that movie. He and River Phoenix made that film unforgettable. And my daughter absolutely loved it.

I wish we had taken the time to meet with Wil Wheaton, so that we could have told him how good he was.

Of course, listening to the closing music of the film reminded me of the passing of singer, Ben E. King. The power of his voice and the sweet melody make the song, "Stand By Me," as unforgettable as the film itself.

And so, seeing how my weekend tied itself together in such a way, with my daughter taking me to Comiccon, drinking the beer named after Wil Wheaton, who attended the show, finding a copy of the film that made him a success, listening to the song by the artist we just lost, I couldn't help but share the song for Music Monday.

Enjoy.



Happy Monday!

Oh, Wil, what have they done to you?