It’s starting to sound like I’m completely obsessed with this, right? In today’s Las Vegas Review Journal, Doug Elfman writes about the closing of the Experience, and he really nails why people like me are obsessed with its closing and why we loved it so much to begin with (and it’s not just because we’re Trekkies). Here’s an excerpt:

“We are heartbroken,” Experience fanatic Francine Lebrato said this weekend. “No matter who’s sitting next to you, you can talk to them.”

That’s exactly right. The Experience experience inspires loyalty and camaraderie, as it speaks to people bound together by deep narratives and history weaved by TV series, books, films and Web sites.

This is so true. And it’s what is missing in most bars, frankly. Oh sure, if you’re somewhat extroverted, you can strike up a conversation with someone next to you at pretty much any bar, but it usually goes something like this “Nice weather we’re having, huh?” or “You from around here?” or “Did you see the game last night?” Stop me before I fall asleep. The reason for this is that most bars are homogeneous; they have no theme or specialty niche. (Unless of course it’s a sports bar.) They’re all centered around alcohol, maybe food, and they expect that people who go there are going with someone else already (friends, family, coworkers), so they don’t need conversation starters. Few bars have bar games to create community, like the Tuesday Trivia Nights at Ri Ra’s in Burlington. There are no bars for English majors in my home town, what about yours? Likewise, there are no bars for kayakers, photography buffs, or RVers. Wouldn’t it be fun to go to a bar and know automatically that no matter who is sitting at the bar next to you, you share something in common with them? That you’ll easily be able to strike up a conversation on a topic that you share a passion for? That’s what Trek fans found at Quark’s, the bar/restaurant at the center of the Star Trek Experience. And that’s why it was a great place for a solo to hang out.

Now, I’m a bit more pragmatic than some of the fans interviewed in Elfman’s column. I won’t go as far as forming a human chain to stop the dismantling, and it certainly won’t stop me from visiting Vegas again. But it will stop me from going to the Hilton again. Not because I harbor any particular ill will toward the hotel, but simply because the Star Trek Experience was the only reason I had to go there. There is nothing else at that hotel that appeals to me. And since it’s off the Strip, it costs me money to get there. Why bother?

A lot of us in this country–especially those of us who are single–are still searching for a sense of community, a place to call home. We need more gathering places where solos can go and feel immediately welcomed into the fold, not as though our only value to the proprietor is as someone who is spending money. It’s a shame that one of those few outposts will no longer be around come September 1.