The Titanic seems smaller now

[greatbear]

Yesterday I heard that the last remaining survivor of the sinking of the Titanic has died, after 97 full years of life. As many of you might know, I have been an aficionado of sorts of all things Titanic, the ship itself, the era it was born in, the industrial might of the day, the people, and, of course, the tragedy itself and the resulting history. With the last human connection to that fateful day gone, it transitions forever into the history books. Like every historical event, of triumph or tragedy, large or small, anything of note, once there are no longer any people who can speak of it from being there, somehow it becomes almost a different sort of event. Such events lose some of the impact when the human presence disappears. It's as if it marks the point at which history becomes 'dusty'.

My fascination of the vessel and the events surrounding it could be a book of it's own. Yet even now, I still learn things I did not know previously. Ms. Elizabeth Gladys "Millvina" Dean, the last survivor and I share the same birthday. She was born in London on Feb. 2, 1912, just over two months old at the time of the sinking. We were born exactly fifty years apart. My feelings changed a bit more with the addition of a single word. We were born only fifty years apart. Something to think about, as I speed towards my own fifty years.

Bon Voyage, Millvina.

Comments

an omission?

[disccub.livejournal.com]

I noticed that your love of things Titanic did not include the Academy Award winning movie. That's okay, I am not a big fan of the movie either.

I also noticed that you were streaming WXPN - my favorite radio station, to which I am listening as I type.

Have a great day.

Re: an omission?

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

Ah, but I did make a mention, a line from the movie itself. Hover your mouse over the article link and read the title text. My LJ is full of hidden meanings, references to others' postings, inside jokes, etc. Thing is, I don't make it easy, and very few seem to find the easter eggs or get most of the humor.

For the record, I did like the movie a lot, not so much for the 'love story' (it's nothing that has not been told a million times before), though I loved Gloria Stewart's role and character, and Kate Winslet's as well. It was the attention to detail to the ship itself and the history aspect. As much as I have learned about the ship and all of the inside rooms and structure, I felt as if the ship had never sunk while watching the movie. One of the prime purposes of a good movie is to make you feel that you are in the era or place the movie is set in, and this it did very well. It was also a good documentary by itself if you take away the 'frontstory' of Jack and Rose. The movie made people think and remember the Titanic, which is a good thing too.

[ricksf.livejournal.com]

Gad, we share yet another fascination it seems. Perhaps as an engineer, this most famous sinking of the era's premier ocean liner has a special attraction. I may not have seen every documentary concerning the causes of the ships failure to survive its iceberg strike, but I'll bet I've seen the majority of them! Bad design, substandard rivets, defective expansion joint, overly brittle iron plates, sister ships that also met untimely ends... fodder for a mystery that will likely never be solved. And most sadly perhaps, the ship itself seems to be the victim of age in its underwater grave. Dust to dust...

[maxauburn.livejournal.com]

I read about Millvina Dean's death, too, and I, also, felt sad for the reasons you'd already expressed.

I've been fascinated with Titanic since I was 7, and saw A NIGHT TO REMEMBER on the Early Show on tv. Loved the 1997 movie, also for similar reasons which you've written in here. It is such a sad and strangely compelling story.

I have many books on Titanic, and even an imitation poster on wood announcing the ship's sailing date on my wall.

Now, the ship itself is disintegrating under two and a half miles of ocean.

I hope all those who died that night in 1912 have had a splendid afterlife.

God knows they all deserve it.

Goodbye, Millvina Dean.. and take care.