Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Contrasts in Time


I was deep in the hills of West Virginia a few days ago. Actually, a small town called Ronceverte. I came up to this intersection and saw this log cabin. If you click on it, you can see it much better. Do you see the little sign?? Built in 1770!
I looked at it, with cars going by, the speed limit sign, electric wires, an Econo Lodge down the road...and thought about another time. Almost two and a half centuries ago! Just think of all that hadn't happened yet! The Declaration of Independence hadn't even been written! I imagined what it must have looked like around there back then. And how isolated these people probably were. I guess that isn't necessarily a bad thing, if you are with those you love and feel safe and happy.
I took out my digital camera, while I sat in my warm, dry car...and snapped an instant picture. And thought again of my brothers and sisters....who just happened to come to earth a few hundred years before me.
1770. Wow.

3 comments:

dubby said...

Pshaw. 1770 isn't old. You know, I had ancestors living back then!

If you think about it, lots of them. Let's see, four grandparents born around 1900, 8 around 1870, 16 around 1835, 32 around 1800, 64 around 1770 and 128 who would have been adults at that time.

Now here is the fun part, 256 around 1700, 512 around 1670, 1000 around 1630, and 2000 around 1600, including the ones who came over on the Mayflower. Then by 1500 it is 16000 and by 1400 it is 128000 ancestors walking around England and Germany just waiting to have descendants. This doesn't even include extended families.

So what are the chances that any of my 128,000 are the same as some of yours!

Go back another 100 years and we are at a million.

We must be sisters!

Diane said...

was there ever a doubt?

The Katzbox said...

That cabin was beautiful. Cool math Dubby. We are all related...especially if this was taken "deep in the hills of West Virginia"...oh hecks yea. Mortal brothers and sisters, joined at the Temple.