Time and Tide

Time and tide wait for for no man. Many times I heard those words from my father. When there was work to be done, or maybe a place to be, I would hear that, C'mon time and tide wait for no man.

How true a statement that is. Two days ago when Irene caused the flooding of the river the tide certainly didn't wait. Time and tide are relentless. In an ever changing world there are constants. Time changes everything but time itself remains. Always moving forward. The ebb and flow of the tides are ever constant. They can be measured and predicted. They are powerful forces which can not be stopped, or altered by man.

The expression time and tide wait for no man comes from the seafaring days of old. It was during a time when ships were dependant upon the tide to sail out of port. At high tide with the ship fully loaded and ready to go, time was important. To miss the tide was to delay the voyage. It could prove to be a costly error.

Having been born on an island I feel closely tied to the sea. My birth sign is cancer,the crab. I spent twenty years in the Navy and have sailed the seven seas.

I love seafood of all types. In fact, I have yet to find a seafood I don't like !

So somehow, I too, am tied to the tide and by association, time.

Occasionally a restlessness comes over me. A feeling that I'm missing the voyage. The first line from a poem comes to mind, " I must go to the sea again,to the lonely sea and the sky,and all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by." The tide is calling to me.

I expect it was the same back in sailing days. Several of my ancestors were around the world whalers. After their final voyages and in their old age I imagine they went to the dock and looked out. Scanning the horizon for a mast or perhaps some sea birds. There lives were tied to the tide. Others in my family were baymen. Working the bay for their livelihood. They were as equally tied to the tide.

The blood of my ancestors flows through my veins. It is mixed with saltwater I think. The links to the past are strong and enduring. You cannot escape your past, only chart a course for the future. Time and Tide wait for no man !

Don't miss the tide.

Abraham Miller King

my 2nd Great Grandfather

made seven voyages around cape horn hunting whales