Alone on the sea, in the Suez Canal, or hard by the desert, they were shocked by nearly overwhelming dimensions and colors: whether of the vastness of the oceans or the gold and white sands over which viscous air danced on the horizon. Isolation in space made for isolation in time. Their past lives were overshadowed by the infinities they sensed and the thunder of the sun. The flag stretched in the breeze, vibrating enough to sing. How wonderful and strange to be young and on the sea off the deserts of Africa, from which the wind blew hot and dry. How wonderful to be in such a place, at twenty, without knowing what lay ahead.