I've sort of jokingly referred to myself as a "neonatal Trekkie." My parents were both fans of Star Trek: The Original Series before I was even born. In fact, my mom had a life sized poster of Captain Kirk. So it was no surprise to anyone, really, that I turned out to be a Trekkie. It started with watching Star Trek: The Next Generation reruns everyday after school. I then began attending Star Trek conventions, got involved in online Star Trek role-playing, and joined a local Star Trek club. I owned not just one, but three different Starfleet uniform costumes.

Over the years, I've collected a lot of Star Trek memorabilia and merchandise. I've collected autographs, signed books, the Hallmark Christmas ornaments, figures, collectible plates, and even a 6-pack of Romulan Ale from the now closed Star Trek Experience in Vegas.

But despite being a life long Trek fan, I never had a chance to meet Gene or Majel Roddenberry. Not that I didn't want to; not that I didn't try. As fate would have it, it just never happened for me. It's one of my regrets, when it comes to my Trek fandom.

However, I was recently given an opportunity to own a "piece" of Gene and Majel's life, and that opportunity came from none other than Rod, their son. A few weeks ago, I was sitting on Twitter just browsing, when a new tweet popped up from Rod (who I only recently started following). It said:

"Gene Roddenberry's entire Time Life WWII Series. 23 books. Excellent condition. FREE - Up for grabs to War Buffs. Just need to pay shipping."

I responded within 60 seconds of his post. You see, my significant other, Dan, is not only a Trekkie like me, but also a huge WWII history buff. I sat there in agony for nearly 7 minutes, waiting for Rod to tell us who was going to get them. I was reasonably certain that I had been first, but didn't want to get my hopes up. Then the confirmation came: