Something About Nothing by Julie Seedorf

Have you ever had strange things happen to you, making you wonder if you are seeing things and leaving you baffled as to the mysterious way something popped up in your life? I had one of those woo woo moments this morning.

This week I had writer’s block and I struggled to come up with a topic for my column. This column has been in existence since 2005, and every week I hope to write something new and different. When my brain quits spewing ideas I usually pray and ask God to send me an idea. However, this morning when I woke up and there were no ideas in my brain, I didn’t expect my answer to come the way it did and freak me out a bit. I said another quick prayer and then picked up my cellphone, which I leave at the side of my bed.

Usually I do a quick check of things on my phone before setting my phone by my bed and closing my eyes at night to sleep. I did the same last night. This morning I picked up my phone and unlocked it and the first thing on the screen was a sentence typed in on my Google search. Here was the question: What is the Antikythera mechanism? And the answer with pictures was right below.

I looked at the picture and the question at the top of my screen. I had never heard of the Antikythera mechanism and had no idea why I would have searched for it? And of course I had no memory of wanting to find out the answer to a question of something I never heard of before.

I checked my phone and everything appeared to be fine. Had I somehow done this in my sleep, my unconscious brain thinking up the question and I, typing it in? Had my shyster kitty, Natasha, decided she needed some education and used my phone while I was sleeping? Was one of my friends in heaven having a joke at my expense? Was this my answer to my prayer?

I must admit I was a little freaked out. The Antikythera mechanism, according to my phones search, is an ancient Greek analogue computer and orrery used to predict astronomical positions and eclipses for calendrical and astrological purposes. Since I used to fix computers, I had my answer — my old boss, who is no longer gracing this earth, decided to play a joke from beyond. It had to be him.

I decided to read more. This mechanism could also track the four-year cycle of athletic games similar but not identical to an Olympiad. Apparently this was housed in a wooden box and is a complex clockwork mechanism. Without going into more detail, the artifact was recovered on May 17, 1901, from the Antikythera shipwreck off the Greek Island of Antikythera. This instrument was believed to be constructed and designed by Greek scientists.

It is quite interesting, and if you want to know more, make sure you Google it. I didn’t know I needed information about this ancient old computer, but I learned something, and I had a subject for my column no matter how strange the circumstances were in presenting me with the subject.

In all honesty I do believe in whispers from heaven. I have heard the whispers, and they have influenced some of my decisions or calmed me down in a crisis. Those whispers bring warm feelings and clarity to my life. It can happen in an instant. I hear the whisper out of nowhere, and all of a sudden I think about someone who was a family member or a friend that I haven’t thought of for months or years and for no reason.  After the whisper, they occupy my mind and bring memories of their advice from when they were with us here on earth.

I must say I think I solved this woo woo moment. On the day I am writing this column, after checking the news, I see that vox.com had a story on the Antikythera mechanism. When setting my phone down last night after checking the news it must have accidentally went to the article and put the search question in my Google search. So the shaking of the phone found that page. But yet, after praying, I had my subject for my column — however it happened. I leave you with this question: Was it a coincidence or help from above?

Wells resident Julie Seedorf’s column appears every Monday. Send email to her at hermionyvidaliabooks@gmail.com.