Reflections made during the year-long odyssey
in search of the first Masters Degree
presented to a Canadian educator
by Brandon University's Faculty of Education

A juxtaposition of thoughts emanating from nostalgia, 
family, music, teaching and the university experience

Sadly, some navigators seek out little placid tide pools... 
...drop anchor...
...and sit in tired... creaky-leaky dinghies...
...while their young passengers look longingly...
...expectantly...
...out to open sea...

They yearn for the thrill of the salt spray in their faces 
and the toss of the waves 
and a chance to skim across infinite waters to distant adventures 
-- and to learn the skills to survive on this life sea.

Many of these tide poolers will either meet disaster 
when they do break out past the breakwaters, 
or will spend a lifetime as land lubbers -- 
...frustrated...
...angry... 
and haunted with personal devils 
which constantly remind them of what they could have been.

One can study the theory behind seamanship --
it can be mastered by most any hotshot yachtsman, 
but the experience of the old salt is invaluable 
when the going gets long... or rough.

He can read the tides...
...the stars...
...the wind... 
...he can talk to life in the deep...
...he can create a course and navigate it...
...he can sail by the seat of his pants... 
knowledge recollected allows him 
to cope with each unpredictable crisis along his course.

To the novice, 
the waves and cycles with which the old salt is so in tune, 
at first appear meaningless or incomprehensible 
but really they are just a part of life's cycle.

Just as in the oriental concept of yin and yang 
where two complementary forces flow into one another, 
so does night become day...
...season follows season...
...death follows birth...