Day 1746: Star Trek: The Inner Light

Of all the episodes of Star Trek: Next Generation, this is one of our all time favorites. I was so happy to stumble upon it tonight after the reunion meeting.   Picard is held captive by a probe that creates an entire life for him beyond the Starship Enterprise.  Without moving a muscle, he experiences a lifetime within the culture of people whose world was destroyed when its sun went supernova.

After years of resisting this fabricated life, he finally embraces it.  He lives with a wife who loves him deeply, has children and friends, spends his time collecting data in trying to address the drought, and learns to play the flute.   He comes to love his family, even though he never imagined having one.  He tells his daughter, "Seize the moment.  Make now the most precious time." He finally realizes that truth applies to himself as well.  It's a heartrending story because he becomes genuinely attached to the fabricated family and grieves for them when the beam disconnects.

It was 80 degrees again today and will be tomorrow as well.  I wish we had not closed our pool!  Our first Quest meeting is at Cassadaga at 10:00 am and that means getting dressed in presentable, heavy clothes!  We'll be sharing the new video with students and telling them how to enroll.  Several of our veteran hikers will be there to speak of their experiences.  So, the 2016 season ended with the completion of the video yesterday and the new season begins tomorrow.