After the kids were in bed, 'Star Trek: The next generation' reruns would be on the television, and that would be how I treated myself at the end of the day. There were many episodes of the crew during their adventures in outer space, and some I saw more than once. It now seems odd to me that there is only one scene that stands out in my memory, and that scene takes place on planet earth.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard has retired. So, how does the commander of a starship with a dynamic crew that's been all over the galaxy and then some spend his time off? Working alone in a vineyard wearing a great straw hat to shield himself from the sun. Picard becomes a link between the infiniteness of space and the tangible weight of sun-warmed grapes in one's hand, the very smell of earth.