" We carried life out here and set it down the way those ants carry eggs. And I was the leader. The westering was as big as God, and the slow steps that made the movement piled up and piled up until the continent was crossed. “Then we came down to the sea, and it was done.” He stopped and wiped his eyes until the rims were red. “That’s what I should be telling instead of stories.” When Jody spoke, Grandfather started and looked down at him. "

― John Steinbeck , The Short Novels of John Steinbeck