It’s not a good snapshot, but it feels more real than a yearbook photo. I am not sure what made me take it, probably a sense of premonition. At first it seems to portray nothing but a large, black surface. Look a bit more closely, though, and you’ll recognize a pair of shoulders and the colossal back of a boy: my new teammate, Sal, who had joined Palo Alto Rowing Club that very morning. Clad in blue jean...