Once upon a time, Mama Sprout led a beleaguered, underslept, overstressed, too-many-miles-commuted, pager-always-vibrating Silicon Valley existence. There was no Papa Sprout making sure she had a warm and delicious dinner every night. There were no NYC galleries pulling her away from her computer. There was no family on that coast to put things in perspective.

But there was her favorite rocket scientist. One boy called Jeff who knew where to get the best scones in Palo Alto, how to find and repair an antique typewriter, could build a kaleidoscope and who would see any action movie, no matter how dumb. Back then, he seemed to know something about everything, and lots about most things.

Strange things happen. A butterfly flaps its wings. A building falls. Two people pass on the street. Neither stops, but both dream about it. A grey coat survives ten years' of cross-country trips. And Jeff still knows so many things.

Sprout will do well under his well-traveled and Apple-favored tutelage. While Mama and Papa look forward to another brunch with Uncle Jeff -- and hopefully Aunt Katie, too -- in the near future...