DFO 1449 Tenerife 28/1/75

1. WE WERE ON THIS OLD STEAMSHIP‚ it seemed like an old old rickety yacht or boat of some kind, a pretty big one like a small steamship, like something maybe someone had given us. It was kind of typical, one of those old affairs that runs by faith‚ you know? We just planned to use it for the Family & friends‚ but it turned out that Aaron & kind of a roughneck boyfriend had invited a whole lot of people to come along as guests, like it was some kind of a cruise! (Just like Aaron!)

2. SO I WAS REAL WORRIED ABOUT ALL THESE STRANGERS ON BOARD with this old rickety boat, a real tub, & I was very anxious to get them off! We were just cruising down this coast a little ways when I discovered he had all these strangers on board—it seemed like he'd invited practically everybody to go along—so I insisted we stop & turn around & take'm back home before something happened! So we did!

3. IT HAD SOME KIND OF A STRANGE ROOM AMIDSHIPS SORT OF LIKE A CHINESE PUZZLE, not exactly like an engine room. I don't know what it was‚ but if you wanted to reverse the direction of the ship, you just reversed the direction of this room! The walls of the room were shaped sort of like a barrel, & if you wanted to reverse the direction of the ship you threw the lever & it was like all the sides of the barrel came together & it turned around‚ revolved the direction you wanted to go, & came apart again. I don't understand that at all, but it worked—came together, turned around, came apart & we started back the other way! It was like reversing the engines or turning the engines around or something. On this old tub I guess that's what you had to do, you had to turn the engine around to get the boat to go the other direction!

4. THE NEXT THING THAT HAPPENED MADE ME REALLY MAD! I must have gotten busy with something or other, & I discovered the boat was stopped & the boys had docked alongside this place to watch a ball game—& I was so mad! I was so anxious to get this crowd home because I was afraid this old tub would break down before we got'm home. I was really mad‚ I got so angry, & I was going along the side of the ship trying to find the lever that started it off again.

5. THE LEVER WAS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE SHIP, a great big huge thing like one of those old-fashioned hand brakes or something, or like those huge levers they use on the San Francisco cable cars, huge big levers you pull back this way to engage the engines, & you took off! Of course you didn't take off very fast in those days‚ just slowly. Well, I was so mad because I couldn't find the lever & I was not familiar with the ship.

6. SO I KEPT RUNNING ALONG LOOKING OUT THE WINDOWS TRYING TO FIND WHERE THE LEVER WAS! It was quite a ways further down & I finally found it & grabbed the lever & the ship started to slowly move. They said, "But Aaron & this boy aren't on the ship yet, they're watching the ball game!" I said, "I don't care, we'll just leave'm!" I was so mad! But I felt sorry for Aaron, not knowing where they were or how far it was to home, so I said, "All right, have'm crawl on board & I am going to give him such a bawling out they'll never forget it!" And I did, I really bawled'm out! I was so mad I was going to send them ashore again, then I decided, "Well, maybe I'd better not." Anyhow, we started back & kept on our way to return home.

7. AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THE BOAT HAD TURNED INTO ONE OF THESE GREAT BIG CRUISE SHIPS, luxury liners, with hundreds of people on board, really a beautiful ship! I was just a passenger‚ I wasn't the Captain any more, & I walked around amazed‚ admiring this gorgeous ship! The funny part about it was, I first arrived on the ship in that room that reversed itself‚ just like ours had been, only this was a huge huge room! I just suddenly appeared there!

8. IT'S LIKE SOME KIND OF A REVERSAL ROOM IN TIME & SPACE—just by turning this room around, you changed directions & everything. And here I suddenly appeared in this room just like I'd been transported there! For a minute I was scared it was going to close in on me, but then it didn't, it was busy on its way & parts of the wall were moving around. It seems like this strange room controlled the whole ship. Parts of the wall moved in different directions, up & down & back & forth like pieces of a wooden Chinese puzzle when you shake it around or jiggle it. It was all very important to the management & the power & direction of the ship.

9. SO ANYHOW, I GOT OUT OF THERE & WALKED ALONG & WATCHED THE PEOPLE, all these fancy people on this big trip like a Mediterranean cruise! They were eating this real fancy food & some kind of fancy dessert, & I thought‚ "Wow, look at these cream cakes & everything!"—And I picked me a cherry off the top of a cream cake & ate it! I thought, "Wow, this is good stuff! This is really quite a cruise, really really nice!"

10. SO I WENT UP FRONT IN THE PROW & SAT UP ON THE DECK AS WE WERE COMING INTO HOME PORT—I don't know where home port was‚ but it was home port anyway—& we were going to stop there apparently. There was this real pretty girl sitting beside me on my right as the boat was slowly slowly moving up to the pier. Most of the passengers were lined up along the railing watching the pier & the crowd ashore, so we found ourselves left alone sitting there side-by-side! I preferred just to sit there in comfort & watch because you could see pretty good.

11. ALL OF A SUDDEN SHE SORT OF SLOWLY LEANED HER HEAD OVER ONTO MY SHOULDER & I thought, "Well, that's nice‚ she wants to pick up a man for this time ashore!" So I laid my hand on her leg & patted it a little bit as my answer & we sat there kind of cozy together! I think quite a bit of time passed by, because we heard them saying, "Be sure you get all your baggage off the ship, be sure everybody's got your things!" So we too rushed to our rooms, wherever they were—of course she was someplace different from where I was—& I don't know how I knew‚ but somehow I knew I had a small briefcase with a pair of binoculars & a tape recorder, like a fleebag!

12. I COULDN'T FIND MY STATEROOM BECAUSE I'D SHOWN UP ON THE SHIP SORT OF UNEXPECTEDLY, but I figured, "Well, I must have a room somewhere!"—& I kept running up & down the decks trying to see if anything looked familiar & I might be able to find it. When all of a sudden I felt the ship was underway again! I thought, "Oh my, that poor girl is ashore waiting for me, & here I'm caught on the ship & it's on its way to the next port!"—& I was really worried! I thought, "Oh me, everybody got off except the people going to the next port, & here I am left on the ship!"

13. SO I RAN UP ON DECK TO FIND OUT WHERE WE WERE GOING, WHAT WAS THE NEXT PORT. I thought, "For goodness sakes‚ I hope it's not clear back somewhere in the Mediterranean or somewhere a long long long long ways from home! I hope there's a port of call pretty soon!" And I was so relieved to find out that, yes, the ship was going to stop that night at the next island, & I think it was Lanzarote! (In the Canary Islands near Tenerife.) It was going to stop at Lanzarote where I could get off & I wouldn't have to go all the way back to the Mediterranean, someplace like Genoa or Venice or somewhere!

14. SEE, THAT'S JUST A SILLY DREAM, I DON'T SEE ANY POINT IN IT AT ALL! But it was funny how clear it was! Of course with Aaron still around, the old ship could represent the early days of the Revolution when the Revolution really was a tub, a real rickety old tub! And he was kind of bossy, always getting us into things. (Maria: And he invited a lot of people on board!) He was always inviting a lot of people & doing crazy things & making strange friendships & telling people what to do without my authority. He did two or three things I didn't like, & he was always doing something crazy. A lot of times it was good, a lot of times it was the Lord, but sometimes it was pretty stupid!

15. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THOSE CHANGES OF DIRECTION ROOMS MEANT, but it was almost like I was catapulted through time & space & suddenly I was on this real nice big cruise ship & there were hundreds & hundreds of people on it! So maybe that represents the New Revolution, where the kids are kind of running it themselves now, & I'm sort of more like a passenger riding along! Well it's true, we've got big leaders & everything all over & they're really running their own areas! (The Chain for sure!)

16. I THOUGHT, "BOY, THOSE OLD TUB DAYS WERE NEVER LIKE THIS! Look at this nice cherry cream cake & everything! Wow!" Well, we are quite a bit better off financially than we were then, & I don't have as much responsibility in a way, we've got more leadership to take care of the ship—leader-ship to lead the ship! Maybe that's where they got the name! (That was sure their idea!)

17. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE IDEA WAS OF THAT POOR LONESOME YOUNG GIRL UP ON THE DECK, but you know me, I'm always defending the poor & the lonesome, especially girls, so it's a pretty unbeatable combination if they are both lonesome & a girl! And she seemed to like me & I patted her leg to let her know I liked her! But then we ran to get our things & got lost from each other. But it was like she was in good hands, she went ashore with the regular crowd. It was just like one more girl we'd won! They get the idea they can stay with me, but they can't always stay. And since I couldn't find my cabin & my stuff, the ship was underway again—I guess the Revolution's moving on‚ with or without me! (It sure was!—And little folks were neglected!)

18. ANYHOW, ALTHOUGH I DIDN'T MANAGE TO MAKE IT OFF AT THE HOME PORT, I WAS VERY HAPPY TO KNOW I WASN'T TOO FAR FROM HOME & I could get off at the next port & catch the next boat back. Maybe that means the Revolution is going to be able to sail on without me one of these days soon & I can go Home. (Maria: Maybe it means you can take a little time off for a rest‚ but you always have to come back!) So that's the dream! Sure was funny! Well‚ it sort of does sound like it might have some meaning!

19. IT'S FUNNY HOW I WENT THROUGH A CHANGE & TRANSITIONS OF YEARS TO THAT SAME KIND OF ROOM, only on the new boat it was a lot bigger. It seemed like more people were running the ship than just me & Aaron. I don't know what you'd call that dream. (Maria: What would you call it?) I guess just call it "The Cruise Ship!"—Or "The Cruise Ships!"—Or maybe it was just one ship, only it grew up, like the Revolution!

20. (AND IT SURE WENT THROUGH A LOT OF CHANGES OF DIRECTIONS, UNTIL IT ALMOST GOT OUT OF MY HANDS! But‚ praise God, I'm back on board again & hope I've found you‚ my love!—The lonely little girl‚ the neglected little folks of the Revolution!—Amen? Hallelujah! Praise God! I think we have at last!—Through the Letters!—Amen?—And we've thrown off the old anchor Chain & are steaming away to new horizons!—Amen?—PTL! GBY! ILY! Keep sailing!

21. LIKE MY FAVOURITE OLD POEM ABOUT COLUMBUS!: "SAIL ON"!

Behind him lay the gray Azores,

Behind the Gates of Hercules

Before him not a ghost of shores,

Before him only shoreless seas!

The good Mate said, "Now we must pray!

For lo, the very stars are gone!

Brave Captain, what shall I say?"

He said: "Sail on!—Sail on & on!"

Amen!—Hallelujah! TYJ!

Praise God! Sail on!—In Jesus' name, amen!

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family