The end brings a beginning. As a walk begins, so it ends, often on some obscure shore. But we do not walk to reach the end. Rather we walk today to feel the sting of the highway, the cold of the morning, the heat of the sun, and the disquiet and ecstasies of the wind on our bodies, our minds, and our souls. And so is life. We are here now to feel all that and more—and then the door closes.

It may be that the realistic story is commonplace, but so is life, and the realistic tale is true.