I can hardly believe it was just four years ago that we toured the Caribbean island of Grand Turk. My, how the world has changed. On that day, though, there were no thoughts of pandemic lockdowns, restricted travel, or zero vacations in the Caribbean. Our cruise ship docked in the morning, and we strolled off without a care in the world. We were ready for paradise.
The paradise part was on full display all about us. There are the tall, stately palm trees capped with wide, green leaves. All about are stunning ocean views. A scenic road winds all the way round the island. The way is dotted with wild donkeys and wild horses. The houses reflect a unique island architecture; single story for the most part, with ubiquitous low walls surrounding every yard (to keep the wild donkeys out of the flower beds). There are windmills and a beautiful lighthouse.
The “sort of” part was also right before our eyes. The week before our visit, the island had been blasted by a hurricane. Many of the islanders were dealing with power outages and the like. Some of the houses were missing roofs. One was missing the entire second story. Debris lined the road and peppered some of the walled yards. And there were longer-term situations. Parts of the town reflected an ongoing poverty, endemic to small islands completely dependent on tourism for their economies.
It was on our tour that we learned about White Gold, one other source of income.
From the 1660s, the economic mainstay of the Turks, particularly Grand Turk and Salt Cay, was the production of what came to be called “White Gold.”
Or, as we say it ... salt.
Originally, Bermudans sailed to Grand Turk and used the natural action of the ocean to produce this high-demand commodity. The incoming tide would cover low-lying flats with water. Then, when the tide went out, the sun dried what was left into a super-salty brine. This was raked (by hand!) and moved by donkey cart to a higher ground for further drying. During the 18th and 19th centuries, these islands were the greatest producers of salt in the Americas.
Today, little of that remains. Some of the equipment and paraphernalia are in museums. And, of course, the salt flats are everywhere. But industrialization and modernization have changed the salt industry, irrevocably. Oh, you could still produce salt the natural way. But the economies of scale have eliminated it as an economic engine for the Turks and Caicos.
The salt still appears, but it’s no longer golden.
What’s left to sun and sea—the remnants of those old processes—are those flat, salt-saturated, patches ... dead land where nothing grows. Only those that are daily replenished by ocean water have any plant growth. Those island spots just don’t have the nutrients to sustain edible plants.
And that brings me to this week’s Jeremiah passage. Reflecting the language of Psalm 1, Jeremiah urges his readers to place their trust in God so they can be like “a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit.”
He contrasts this lovely situation with what befalls those who place their trust in anyone or anything other than God, declaring, “They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.”
Now that I’ve seen such “salt land” with my own eyes, I can assure you, choosing to be the tree by the stream is a much better option ... even in an island paradise.
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PHOTO: Steve Orr
A great little article about the rise, and fall, of White Gold): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/white-gold-how-salt-made-and-unmade-the-turks-and-caicos-islands-161576195/
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Friday mornings are a high point! Join us for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast at 8:00. We still meet on Zoom** and at Our Breakfast Place restaurant. Food, fellowship, scripture, prayer, and some of the funniest stuff you’ve ever heard. It really is an hour like no other.
Blessings,
Steve
**Contact me for the Zoom link
NOTE: Zoom allows you to mute the camera & microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard.
SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY & THE COMING WEEK
Jeremiah 17:5-10
Psalm 1
1 Corinthians 15:12-20
Luke 6:17-26
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