10/29/2026
Mama here. First Chekov, now Captain Picard. 😭
I have loved Star Trek for as long as I can remember. I was only three years old when it first aired in 1966, but I vaguely remember seeing images of starships when I was little.
For me, Star Trek embodies a society where people work together for the greater good. Gene Roddenberry was a visionary — putting a Russian on the Bridge during the Cold War, a Black woman as a Bridge officer, refusing to get rid of a Vulcan because the bigwigs thought he was demonic.
But when it came time to reboot the series, he didn’t want an “unknown Shakespearean actor” as Captain of the Enterprise.
And a bald one to boot!
Despite Roddenberry’s disapproval, Patrick Stewart was cast as Captain Jean-Luc Picard. And the rest is history.
Besides Voyager’s Janeway, Picard was my favorite captain. Cool as a cucumber, cerebral, and not afraid to wade into the fray, he elevated the role, showing incredible humanity in each episode.
He had such great lines of wisdom, but one of my favorites was from “The Inner Light” episode in which he lived an entire lifetime as a man named Kamin in the span of 25 minutes. Picard's life as Kamin wasn't filled with spectacular adventures. It was filled with love, family, loss, and the passage of time.
“Make now always the most precious time. Now will never come again.”
So often we say, “I’ll do it tomorrow…” or “One day I’ll get around to it…” or “Some day…”
I am so terribly guilty of that — waiting for the right time, the perfect moment. There is no more perfect time than right now. Now is that day. Do what scares you. Try something new. Fail? Big deal. Just try again. Picard said, “Things are only impossible until they are not.”
Thank you, Captain Picard, for the laughter, the tears, and the wisdom. Safe journey through the stars.
Make it so.