Tenerife...

Off the northwestern coast of Africa is a tiny chain of volcanic islands. Ask most westerners, especially an American, and most will not have a clue where the Canary Islands sit. Tenerife is the largest of these massive volcanic monsters that dot the African coast.

Sometime this morning a native boy stood on one of the western facing docks away from the more populated tourists resorts. The native boy stood with a rather unique flat volcanic stone that he had found on his way to his morning shift at the dock. The boy had always heard great stories of the elders skipping such stones great distances before they disappeared into the morning horizon. The boy often wondered what happened to the many stones the elders had once thrown. Reaching back with his arm parallel to the glistening water he skipped the flat stone into the distance where it disappeared as he imagined with a tiny splash. The native boy smiled and moved on with his day proud to have touched the past of his elders.

As the stone became an afterthought in the boys wandering mind a ripple formed around where the stone pierced the surface of the calm waters. The ripple continues to speed away from the mighty crater of Tenerife. The ripple soon became a tiny wave moving on a northwestern path destined for a distant land. Some say that ripple turned into a mighty wave destined for an amazing journey that was sadly meant for a spectacular yet crashing end. Fortunately, the wave has only begun its long odyssey.

Mark