Why do we love the sea? It is because it has some potent power to make us think things we like to think."

The morning is cloudy and damp, the remnants of another tremendous thunder and lightning storm which woke me up last night. I listened for a while before I fell back to sleep.

On my way back from breakfast this morning a strange thing happened. The cool, damp morning reminded me of a vacation we had in Maine, and all of a sudden I was taken years away.

The mornings near the water always seemed damp and foggy. I usually woke up early, earlier than any one else. I'd dress quietly and leave the cottage to walk to the water. It was a short distance away on a rutted dirt road with patches of grass in the middle. I loved those quiet mornings, and I loved being the only one awake. I'd get to the beach and sit on the sand. I remember the sand was always cold, and I remember the ocean, as still as I'd ever seen it. Small, gentle waves lapped the shore, almost noiselessly. The gulls overhead were loud, and they flew in circles over the water. Tidal pools dotted the shoreline. I'd watch as the morning cleared, as the fog disappeared. I'd hear people starting to stir and I'd hear a few cars off in the distance. That was when I left to go back to the cottage. My time was over.