I feel the same way about the sea. I feel uncomfortable and insecure when I'm too far or too long from salt water. I spent 5 years in Western Pennsylvania, and a year in East Tennessee, and even though I really liked both those places, I still missed the sea terribly. When in Pittsburgh, I even took a trip to Lake Erie, but it didn't help. The minute I got out of the car I noticed that even though it looked like the sea, it didn't smell right. It was very disorienting.

I don't think it had anything to do with my Navy time or my sailing hobby. My mother used to say she couldn't stand being too far from the ocean either, and she never had either of those experiences. But both of us were brought up by the sea. Maybe that's it.

You feel that way about the forest, and some feel that way about the mountains, or the desert, or the ice. I love all those places too, but it is the sea I must always feel close to. I live only 8 miles from it now, and I must confess I rarely go there. But I need to know its there.