Titanic Part 3 and reflecting on the Miracle on the Hudson

I never finished my Titanic posting. Sometimes kids do cute things like brush their teeth with sand that you just have to rush and tell people about it.

In any case--as for the Goldsmith family, life was never the same after the sinking as for many of the people that did survive that disaster.

The presenter--made an interesting comment. Many people say that the ones who lived were the lucky ones. They weren't. They "survived", but their lives were never the same. Women and children got off the boat first--most without their husbands. Many were left destitute.

As for the Goldsmith family, they did move on. Little Frank was convinced that his father's final words would turn out to be true even after it was reasonable to assume enough time had passed that his father would have died by then anyway. In Detroit, I believe Mr. Goldsmith stated that his grandmother and father lived near a ball park. Everytime a homerun was scored--Frank would get really sad and be affected by the noise. The noise was cheering--but all he heard was that night on the life boat in the water beneath a moonless sky when he turned and saw Titanic go under and all the screams of the people when that happened.

Mr. Goldsmith thinks this is why he was never taken to baseball games as a kid or to any large scale event. It was too difficult for his father.

Every year in March and April, Frank would get really depressed and withdrawn. It happened every year since the sinking and continued on well into his adulthood.

Clearly the event effected him in an unimaginable way that he couldn't begin to understand but had to suffer through. Today--we'd say it is likely he had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.


The Titanic is such a fascinating story but such a sad one.

Then yesterday, just before I ran the girls to their dance class I popped onto a CNN and found a stunning headline. A US Airways plane in the Hudson. Say WHAT? I couldn't believe it. Started reading--popped on the news. (I'm a newshound by trade in my pre-kid life.) When I hear of a tragedy I have to find out--did anyone live, did anyone die, should we pray, are they being rescued? All those questions.

By the time I saw the pictures, the plane was swarmed but you really couldn't see much. So I Tivo'd and took the kids to class.

One of our local news stations has their audio frequency matched to radio, so we could listen to the news. When they said that they think everyone survived...I told my kids and told them right then and there we need to PRAISE GOD. This was a true MIRACLE!!!

Everything had to work just perfectly so all these people could live and it did. (I explained that birds don't go to church and pray--so they got in the way and God made this accident into a most happy ending.)

This morning there was a family on that had been on the plane. A young couple with a 4 year old and a 9 month old that were headed to Charlotte for her mother's surgery that was happening today. The overwhelming look of *we almost lost our entire family*--I can't describe their eyes. You knew they were grateful to be alive--but the realization that they could have been lost. I just cannot stand it. Their story of survival is amazing as for the first time they were separated on a flight-4 rows apart. The mom was sitting next to a gentleman who was so calming. He ended up holding her lap child for her for the brace for impact. The trust to do that. I can't fathom it.




I believe everything happens in Gods timing. Including my procrastination in completing writing about our Titanic presentation.

At the presentation they reminded us to Dance like know one is watching and to Sing like noone can here you and to live life to the fullest. We have no idea when we will be called home. We should not live in fear of it, but we should not postpone life with our loved ones as though we have all the time in the world.

155 people experienced yesterday a traumatic event. Some will rejoice and others might grow up like little Frankie. But all will remember that God was watching them and their time was not done on earth.

Love your veggies, hug them with all your might!

Praise God each morning that he gave you another opportunity to wake up and Praise him each evening for the blessings you experienced that day.

Many blessings to your Garden of Love.

A Titanic guest Part 2

I apologize for the delay. I just got so tired by the end of the week...but I digress. My magnitude compares nothing to what those on the Titanic suffered as they were awakened from slumber and proceeded on what became a sad and traumatic event.

I left off with Mr. Goldsmith's father, Frank getting grease on his hands from a dare that landed him in lots of trouble. At this point, Mr. Goldsmith fast forwards to the night of the tragedy. The family: Mother (Mr. Goldsmith's grandmother), Father (Mr. Goldsmith's grandfather), and Frank (his dad) were readying for the night. They were in third class or steerage. Their cabin was situated close enough in proximity to the engines to feel the vibration. They fell asleep to this vibration every night. But on this night, the vibration suddenly stopped. That was their first indication that something was wrong. The Father most likely dressed if he was not already dressed and went to find out what happened.

While Father was gone and Mother and Frank waited, there came a knock at the door. I believe Mr. Goldsmith said this was the ship's doctor or someone. I can't remember--but he came around to tell folks to put on their life vests and get something warm and report to the 2nd class dining room. Father did not want this vest on at all.

As the historians at this talk spoke about and as Mr. Goldsmith mention--when Titanic first hit the iceberg, the ship remained level. It did take on water, but not initially as we know its final moments. So in most every passenger's mind, this ship that they had come to know as unsinkable was warm, and safe and they wouldn't be left to die on the ocean where there was no guarantee that someone would find them in the pitch black darkness.

It is for this reason that gentlemen such as Mr. Goldsmiths' grandfather didn't want to wear a vest or even cared to report to any station to abandon ship. He did eventually put on his vest. But he put his coat over it in a way to conceal it.

The family reported to the 2nd class dining room with fellow 3rd class passengers where they waited and waited. For a while, the floor remained level and there didn't seem to be anything wrong at all. Then the floor did begin a slight slope, but nothing to worry about.

At some point, came the time for them to report to their lifeboat and it was decided that women and children would go first. This was a common practice in Edwardian times and no gentleman would ever be caught taking the place of a lady or child's seat in a moment such as this. In any case, the room divided with men on one side and women and children on the other and they made the long journey through the ship to get to their lifeboat.

They wound through many portions of the ship--back and forth and even did get on the grand staircase that we have come to know through the movies. They did end up on deck eventually. Family legend is that a man did try to cut in front of Mother and Frank and Mother grabbed this man and shoved him out of the line saying "Oh no you don't" with people applauding her actions.

They got to their lifeboat--and Mother and Frank got in. Just before that, Frank's father looked at him and said, "I'll see you soon, Frankie." Those would be the last words he would hear his father speak. :(

When the lifeboat filled with its passengers, they began lowering it. It was hitting the side of Titanic and Mother and other female passengers used their ores to push away from Titanic. Their lifeboat set to sea to where they would wait and watch the ship. Mother clutched Frank so that he wouldn't see anything. At this point, Titanic was sinking in the way that we know it. The noise was quite loud. Very loud. Lots of creaking and screaming. People in the boat were not quiet. They heard a tremendous noise as the back portion of Titanic crashed back to the water.

At this point--it was completely dark. Power on Titanic was out. There was no moon. they could see nothing but the absence of light where Titanic blocked the stars. Someone on the lifeboat said "She's going to stay afloat". At that moment, Mother turned to look at the ship. She let Frank go and he watched her final descent into the water.

The noise was deafening. Then they waited for rescue.

From that moment, Frank had the without a shadow of a doubt expected to see his Father again.

An honorable guest at a Titanic presentation Part 1

Sorry for the one day delay. I want to post daily. I had a post prepared yesterday, but my thoughts were with what we experienced yesterday. And yesterday was just a plain exhausting day, so I waited until this morning to share our experience at a Titanic presentation at that library.

Rutabaga began having an interest in the Titanic when she read about it in the Magic Treehouse Series. She vaguely remembers it being called "A Night on the Titanic". Since reading that book, we have taken her to the Titanic exhibit in Branson, MO when on vacation. Then from our homeschooling connections, we found out about this free presentation at one of our county libraries.

Here is the description as was e-mailed from our county library:

The program is called "Sinking of the Titanic." The woman who is speaking is associated with a museum that deals with this subject exclusively, and she is VERY knowledgeable. She'll be dressed in period costume (1912) and bring a number of artifacts with her. She plans to talks about the people and the times when the incident occurred as well as the incident itself. Some of the most prominent people of the day were traveling in first–class including millionaire John Jacob Astor IV , industrialist Benjamin Guggenheim, Macy's owner Isidor Straus and many others. She'll also discuss the ship's builder, Thomas Andrews (who was on board), and the safety recommendations that were largely disregarded. Plus, she'll be accompanied by a gentleman whose mother and grandmother survived the accident (though his grandfather was lost) and will share his family memories.

SINKING OF THE TITANIC
The sinking of the Titanic on its 1912 maiden voyage has fascinated maritime historians for years. Famous for its luxurious appointments and unsinkable design, Titanic's passengers were a mixture of the wealthiest persons alive and the poorest of immigrants packed into steerage.

At this free program, researcher Denise Vanaria will share insights from survivors' firsthand accounts and the ship's designer Thomas Andrews Jr., as well as artifacts from the ship and its passengers.

Denise will appear in authentic dress from the Edwardian time and will display authentic period wardrobe that has appeared in Titanic-related films and on stage. Frank Goldsmith, whose grandmother and father survived the tragedy though his grandfather was lost, will share family memories when he appears as a special honored guest

This is our experience!

A woman dressed in authentic (vintage--the real deal!) Edwardian dress as the first class women would have worn to dinner on the Titanic. EVERYTHING she wore was authentic. Though admittedly, she didn't mention her underdressings nor did we ask. However, everything we could see was the real deal including the "rats" in her hair. I may have misunderstood the names for the things that helped women of the early twentieth century get those really poofy and formal pinned up hair. But whatever it was--the "poof" creators were the real deal. Her jewelry, her gloves, everything down to the black floor-length beaded gown with train. It was as if though we were with a Titanic passenger.

She introduced a gentleman from the Orlando Titanic Museum who gave us some basic information about the voyage and what happened of course.

The fascinating part those was when we met the gentleman who was the son and grandson of a passenger. This is a paraphrase of the story that he told. It gave me shivers to here a story from someone who KNEW someone on that boat. This was a first for me and the kids and as the decades pass, these opportunities become fewer and far between. The last survivor is 96 years old and lives in a nursing home in England. So we recognize this precious opportunity. (Okay, I recognize it--the kids several times stated they were bored, but maintained their manners. They are more "touchy feely" kind of kids--so listening to a story wasn't so much as interesting as looking at pictures and holding a piece of the deck from the Olympic.)

Forgive me as I don't recall with a photographic memory all the details that Mr. Goldsmith shared. But these are the highlights.

Mr. Goldsmith's father was 9 years old when he sailed on the Titanic. He sailed with his mother and father. The prior year, they lost a little brother (I think that is correct) to diphtheria. At some point they decided to relocate to the United States and the 9 year old's grandmother is to have ask the family (according to family legend) why in the world they would want to move to the US where everyone lives in mudhuts. Evidently she only heard stories of the Native Americans and the plains and did not know of the big city life in New York, Boston and Detroit where the Goldsmith family was headed. Apparently there was no convincing her.

It was known all through Mr. Goldsmith's life that his Father and grandparents were on the Titanic. His grandfather was lost in that disaster while his grandmother and father of course survived. But that is all that was known. It was part of family history but NEVER spoken about. Mr. Goldsmith's father would always get depressed every March/April as the anniversary passed each year. The last words of his father to him as he got in the lifeboat was "I'll see you soon, Frankie." Frank clung to those words even after it was no longer possible for his father to be alive even if he had survived. He died in 1982 (I believe) just a few years before they found Titanic.

I'm sorry that I don't remember the age of Mr. Goldsmith--it was either college or age 33 as he mentioned 2 ages and I had 3 kids I was minding. In any case--he was in the kitchen with his grandmother one day. Remember that this story was NEVER spoken about. She gave an interview when there was interest in speaking to here as the years passed around the anniversary. But that was it. Nothing. Until this one day that Mr. Goldsmith just happened to ask about it. She spent the next hour and a half telling him her story. She died 3 weeks later of a heart attack and Mr. Goldsmith's siblings never got to "hear" it. He didn't think to tape record it. And because of this last opportunity, he was able to share a first person perspective of his loved ones on that ship.


The 9 year old Frank (I think that was his name) was a playful child in his youth. They arrived with excitement to the Titanic. Once the family boarded and settled into their stateroom he was off to play with the other 3rd class boys. He apparently made lots of friends and he and those boys quickly went off to explore the ship. And as, I suppose, as many pre-teen boys of that time do--they found a little trouble as well.

The boys found the cables/hoists that lifted the heavy goods onto the Titanic and little Frank was dared to slide down one (or climb one, I don't recall how Mr. Goldsmith said he got onto it). When the dare was completed, little Frank reported back to his 3rd class cabin and his parents and...got into a little bit of trouble. For days after, his hands were SCRUBBED vigorously daily to remove that grease. Mr. Goldsmith is convinced that his Father still had grease on his hands when he was hoisted to sea in the lifeboat.

Suffice it to say, Frank had a bit of fun on that ship.