Down how many roads among the stars must man propel himself in search of the final secret? … we have joined the caravan, you might say, at a certain point; we will travel as far as we can, but we cannot in one lifetime see all that we would like to see or learn all that we hunger to Know … I can only say that here is a bit of my personal universe, the universe traversed in a long and uncompleted journey.

Loren Eiseley, The Immense Journey

To my father, Emery G. Richard, and mother, Marie Sorrell Richard, uncle, Wilfred C. Richard, aunt, Ethel Sorrell Reals and the mentors of my teenage years, Georges Bourque, Normand Paquette, Gene Tucker

To my wife, Lynne Fitzhugh; to my mentors, Elmer Harp, Jr., Tony Morse, and Tony Williamson; to my many students and colleagues; and to my friends throughout the Maritime Far Northeast, all of whom made my research possible, exciting, and productive