CYPRESSWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST
April 25, 2010
25424 Aldine-Westfield, Spring, TX. 77373
www.blakehart.com/cypresswoodbulletin.htm
LIFT UP IN PRAYER THE FOLLOWING:
God’s will for our congregation Various relatives, friends, and co-workers
Our nation, military and leaders The spread of the good news
RUBBER DUCKIES AND CURRENTS
“You have them rulers over the works of your hands…the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas” (Psalm 8:6, 8).
David understood that there were “paths” or currents in the sea. Solomon built ships and sent them out on a three year journey along the east coast of Africa and maybe east toward India, bringing back animals, gold and spices. The Phoenicians sailed the Mediterranean Sea and maybe further in those days. Jonah was fleeing to what appears to be Spain when God called him. Both the Greeks and the Romans made use of the Sea to move troops and supplies around their empires. Rome eliminated the threat of pirates on the Sea and made travel by boat safe. We know that a map that had been in the library of Alexandria and dated before Christ, had the west coast of Africa, the east coast of South America, and the north coast of Antarctica drawn on it (1). Paul sailed to Rome and used ship transportation a number of times in his travels.
Ancient and Middle Age people understood the concept of ocean currents. Patrick Mead has been discussing the travels of some Welsh people to North America before Columbus. They may have gain information from the Vikings. One Welshman appears to have traveled to North America three times, leaving many people who came with him to establish villages. Brother Mead has traced some of this to two sections of the country. The first group appears to have landed in Mobile Bay in Alabama, traveled inland to Georgia and Tennessee and disappeared from history. They may have been conquered or integrated into the Indian tribes of those areas. Another group traveled up the Mississippi River to the Ohio River and then to Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky. Several fort like areas have been found in southern Indiana that appear to have European markings.
Brother Mead relates an interesting story. Around 1660, the leaders of Jamestown in Virginia, sent a small group down the coast to South Carolina. They landed there but their ships were destroyed. They began the long walk back to Virginia when they were captured by an Indian tribe. Mistreated and tortured, they were told that they would die the following day. The leader began to cry out in the Welch language. Immediately the Indians stopped, shocked, and left. A short time later, a big, painted for war, Indian entered the tent and began talking to the man…in Welch! The men were released, fed, and guided back to Virginia. There are other stories of white men communicating with Indians in Welch in several areas of the country.
These people understood the currents of the seas to make there travels, all this before modern times. This is true of both coasts of the Americas. The Chinese sailed from China long the coasts, coming down as far as northern South America. Have you ever wondered why some Espanic people look oriental? DNA evidence has shown that many people on the west side of the Americas are of Chinese heritage.
When I was stationed in England, I took a trip to the southwest coast of England. It was an interesting drive. The land was flat and the soil was dark, probably rich enough to plant grain. After a while at looking at that, it was just boring. Then came a sign about a town and the road headed down into a little town. I was amazed! There were palm trees and tropical flowers along the streets. I thought I had entered the Twilight Zone. But we are familiar with why this has occurred. It was the Gulf Stream that travels through the southern coast of the U.S., around Florida, and up the east coast of the U.S. and around to Europe. This is warmer water. Having been to Destin, Florida, the water is crystal clear. Along the east coast the water is cold but one is able to adjust and swim in it. Not so on the west coast. The water is cold and stays that way. One can adjust to it but it remains cold.
Now what has all this have to do with rubber duckies? I was reading an article that began with that.. I then looked at the news story about it (2). Sometime around 1990, a container ship traveling from China to Seattle hit a storm around the International Date Line. It appears that three containers fell off the ship and 29,000 bathtub toys began a long journey. Many floated along the Alaskan coast, reaching the Bering Strait in 1995, through the Arctic and into the Atlantic Ocean, reaching Iceland around 2000. By 2001 they had reached the area where the Titanic had sunk. Some had turned toward Europe while others were headed to New England. According to one scholar studying this, hundreds should be washing up on the shore anytime. They have been able to track them because of those that have washed up on the shore along the way. They are teaching scholars about the currents between the Pacific, the Arctic, and the Atlantic.
I found that story fascinating and certainly would like to know more. Needless to say, God created the currents and those in the ancient world understood to some extent the meaning of currents for travel. They discovered it through observation. Today, we have rubber duckies teachings us.
George B. Mearns
(1) This comes from Patrick Mead and his continuing series on Hidden People and Hidden History at http://patrickmead.net It was a Muslim admiral who found the map in a southern European library and copied it around 1500 A.D. It has been verified to be very accurate. How did they do that if the coastline was covered in ice, unless, it wasn’t sometime in the past?
(2) Bathtub toys help scientists track ocean currents, http://usatodaycom copied 2/23/2010.