To stand at the edge of the sea, to sense the ebb
and flow of the tides, to feel the breath of a mist
moving over a great salt marsh, to watch the
flight of shore birds that have swept up and
down the surf lines of the continents for untold
thousands of years, to see the running of the old
eels and the young shad to the sea, is to have
knowledge of things that are as nearly eternal as
any earthly life can be.