Living in Nova Scotia's Henry Island Lighthouse

As a boy growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, I had only a portion of the Great Lakes to provide a sample of the far more vast waters that cover two thirds of the planet. It was reading about the sea, about seamen and ships and the legends that made their lives sparkle which first captivated me. My attention turned to lighthouses as well when I learned that one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World was a lighthouse, a 40-story marvel known as the Pharos of Alexandria, construction of which began in 290 B.C. Then around the same time, I discovered that Robert Louis Stevenson, author of the beloved Treasure Island, had, in the 18004 worked with his great-grandfather, Thomas Smith, to build what became the prototype for lighthouses throughout Scotland. The history and legends - of pirates, mermaids, ghost ships and haunted lighthouses became a part of me long before I ever saw a lighthouse. My love for this lore never waned, and I always wanted a lighthouse of my own.