Genesis
In the death throes of a particularly bitter winter, an old man sits and stares at the ocean. He loves the sea and everything in it. Two young children, a boy and a girl, sit next to him drinking cocoa out of chipped mugs. "Tell us the story again!" exclaims the boy. The girl, his lifelong friend, is both old and precocious enough to think the old man's tales foolish but not so callous as to deny the boy the magic of a tall tale. She sits quietly and smiles to herself. "Well, it's a story of high adventure, my lad." says the man with a knowing twinkle in his eye. "I don't know that you've got the stomach for it..." "Please! Please, please, please!" The girl stifles a laugh. This pantomime plays out every time the two get together. She's not sure who's the bigger kid. As is customary, the old man brings out a corncob pipe. It's not filled, he makes a point of never smoking around the kids, but he chews...