That’s the great thing about a youth misspent in the pursuit of adventure, finding out that any great adventure has as much tragedy as triumph, and as many sights of senseless heartbreak as vistas of beauty and wonder. For every scar tells a story, and like me, you’ve stories enough for a lifetime.

The real tragedy, I think, is that so many of my shipmates saw and did the same things I did, but never appreciated the profundity of the moment, of the encounter, and so never learned the lessons offered by fate and circumstance.

Looking at your words, I suspect you know exactly what I mean.