Just like a parent who should never favor one child over another, I think it is never acceptable to name a favorite character-but oh how I love Manuel! I admire his plant breeding talent as much as the passive aggressive tolerance tactics that help him coexist with his wife Rosie. I worked for a while in the legal department of a vegetable seed company. Many of my tasks were typical of such a department, contracts, litigation support, legal training on such timely topics as prohibition against paying brides to foreign officials by US companies. By this time I’d worked in several legal capacities at several companies-they may have been in different industries but they had some of the same legal needs. But vegetable seeds offered me a look into something I had never thought of, experienced or been introduced to-plant breeders. These are scientists that breed for new varieties of vegetables and fruits (tomato is a fruit). They take characteristics of one plant and introduce them to another hoping for a new baby variety. Some of my favorites were the sweet mini peppers, Bambino watermelon and lettuce wraps. Most of the plant breeders I worked with were from Mexico, as was the company’s origin. I loved my conversations with these vegetable craftsmen, though I commonly said to them, “take it down,” when they we speaking of their process at too high a level. The passion of this unique artistry was inspiring.