The first thing many people do near the ocean is stop talking. A wave folds over itself, breaks, and slides across the sand. Another follows. Then another. The body seems to recognize the pattern before the mind does. Shoulders drop. Breath slows. Thoughts loosen their grip. For a few moments, nothing has to be solved. The sound of water has a rare power. It can fill a whole shoreline or whisper under stones in a narrow brook. It can roar, drip, rush, fall, and lap. Yet in ma