Roll on, thou deep and dark blue ocean ~ roll!
Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain;
Man marks the earth with ruin ~ his control
Stops with the shore.
Lord Byron
When I was twelve years old I crossed the Atlantic aboard the SS Stavangerfjord with my parents to visit my father's homeland of Denmark. In the middle of our crossing we encountered an enormous storm and for over a day we were tossed about by waves over 40 feet tall. My father had been a sailor in his earlier days. He thoroughly enjoyed the storm and his serene acceptance of our situation calmed all my fears. Peering outside it was quite a sight to watch the sailors crawl across the open deck clutching a rope above their heads that had been strung from the main part of the ship to the bridge.
While I hoped to convey some sense of alarm in the sailor's face above, I also hoped to convey that same sense of acceptance my father wore on his face. We live in the middle of many storms over which we have no control ~ might as well accept it. But just like that storm on the sea, the calm eventually comes.
