Even unsinkable ships sink

Sitting on the cold window seal, I watched the flakes of snow as they slowly fell to the ground.  So white, fragile, and perfect in their own way. For a moment, I felt just as perfect.  My happy thoughts were interupted as my door flew open and my 5 year old cousin screamed it was time to get ready to go to the arcade.  I slowly climbed down from the window and put my blanket back on the bed.

  I heard a horn and looked out the window to see the family waiting in the truck for me to come outside.  I grabbed my coat, walked outside and shut the door behind me.  Before I got to the truck my mom rolled down the window and yelled to me that it would be okay if I stayed home.  I mustered up the biggest smile I could and turned around and headed back for the house.  It was empty. I was alone.

  Yesterday I was able to go and see the Titanic Artifact Exhibition.  I didnt know what it would be like or if I would even enjoy it but when we got there I was handed a piece of paper with a name and history on it. A lady explained to me that every one was given a name of someone that was aboard the Titanic.  I was Mrs. Isador Straus, married to Mr. Isador Straus.  We owned the Macy’s department store in New York City and were returning home after taking our daughter to Europe.  Lucky for us, we were 1st class passengers.

Walking through the exhibit there were things brought up from the actual titanic as well as pictures on the walls and facts about the ship and passengers.  My favorite part was the quotes. They had quotes on the walls from people that were on the ship that had died as well as survived.  While walking through the rooms I began to really place myself in those peoples shoes.  Thinking about actually being on the ship, having it start going down. At one point they had an “iceberge” wall that we were able to touch.  Next to it was a board explaining that the water was even colder than this iceberge and passengers were forced to swim in freezing waters.  It said that people did not drown in the water, they merely froze to death.

At that moment I felt my emotions starting to build.  Imagining what these people had to go through. They thought they were on the invinsible ship. The ship that couldnt sink.  They were aboard the Titanic.  I held my hand on the ice for as long as I could then slowly stepped away.  In the next room it had a wall of names. The names of those lost as well as those that survived. We could now look and see if the person we were given lived or died that night.  I began searching for my name on the survivors list but couldnt find it. I looked a second time, determined that I had lived. My name wasnt there.  I looked down at the larger list of passengers names and found my name along side of my husbands among the others that had lost their lives.  I sat there staring at the wall in amazement.  All these people, and not half of them survived.

They were no longer names or just part of a story for me, they were people.  Each of them had lives, loved ones. My uncle that was with me was Mr. Isador Straus, my husband.  After finding his name he looked at me and said, atleast I went with my wife.  He was joking, but I’m sure thats how it was for a lot of them.  They left with the ones they loved.  Either that, or they watched as one of them was saved and the other was left to perish. I looked to the left of the wall of names and found another quote.  I glanced back at the names and then began to read the quote:

” “Women and children first!” Someone was shouting these words over and over again…  They struck utter terror in my heart and now they will ring in my ears until the day I die.  They meant my own safety but they also meant the greatest loss I have ever suffered– The life of my husband.”

  How horrible it would be to know that you are being saved and the one you love is not.  To have to board a life boat as a final struggle to survive and have to watch as people are being left behind.  To know you have room in your boat for more but they wont let anyone else board.  To sit and watch people throw themselves from the sinking ship in an effort to survive.  To know that the waters temperature could kill them alone.  To know that you are one of the lucky few who’s life was spared.

  Something I discovered about Mr. and Mrs. Straus was that they were loyal to eachother till the end. They are honored and remembered for this.  They wouldnt leave eachother.  He would not board a lifeboat before the women and children were gone and before the other men or the younger men had gone. And she would not leave his side.  They would die as they lived – together.

  What an amazing experience it was for me to be able to go there and see those things.  To read the words of those people and to really understand the value of what went on the night the Titanic went down.  Lives were saved, and lives were lost.  People saw the ones they loved being left behind to die.  It really opened my eyes.  I realized how important it is to live life to its fullest because just like these people realized, even unsinkable ships sink.

I feel as though my ship has sailed its final wave… it’s sinking into the depths of the ocean, to where it was meant to be.