Some of you may know my previous obsession with the Titanic. No, not just the movie, the whole story. I started reading about the ship in 3rd grade and became fascinated by the events that took place and the ship itself. For a while the interest died down, but when the movie was released in 1997, it grew stronger than ever. I have read book after book after book, watched all kinds of documentaries, movies, mini-series, and the like, and have done online research. In junior high, I did a computer-aided presentation about Titanic in which I used film clips, sounds, and digital animation of the ship. I also wrote a short story from the view of a passenger. A while later, I hand drew a 6' 3" long copy of the main blueprint to put on my wall. The story goes on...
Yesterday I got to go "back to Titanic" after yet another period of time in which I had let it go a bit. Yes, everything has come back again. Omaha's Children's Museum housed a touring exhibit of artifacts from R.M.S. Titanic Inc. (the company that owns salvage rights). I went with my entire family plus my brother-in-law. When we arrived, they gave us each a ticket with the name of an actual passenger and said "Welcome aboard Titanic". The very first room discussed how the artifacts were salvaged. The first thing my eyes saw...the first actual piece of Titanic I've seen with my own eyes...was a porthole with the glass still in it. That room also had a deck chair, au gratin dishes, a chandelier, a dip sink (for lower classes), and info. on the recovery. Room #2 was all about the birth of the ship...the conception in 1906 to the day of boarding in 1912. In that room were tools used to make the ship, a large model of Titanic, a passenger's suitcase, and tickets found at the wreck site. Towards the end of that part was a mock loading dock with cargo trunks and suitcases that led up to a door, giving you the feeling you were boarding the ship. Room #3 had an example of a 1st class and 3rd class room, as well as some personal items from passengers. Room #4 was designed to look like the grand staircase with the actual cherub from the aft staircase. The floor tiles and wooden columns were made to look just like they did in 1912. Room #5 was a rebuilt Verandah Cafe with authentic dishes, pots, bottles, and such. Beyond that in the same room was a case with money recovered from the site. Room #6 was almost black had an entire D-deck door with windows in perfect condition. The door was going to be where some passengers left the ship from, but it never got to be used for that. Iceberg warnings and tales of omens adorned the walls. Further on in this room ("The Sinking") were children's toy marbles, a worker's boot, eyeglasses, and more. The thing that hit me was the case with a music holder, a wind instrument, and sheet music for "Sugar Moon". The end of this room had a large iceberg made of actual ice so that you could feel how cold the water was that night. Let me say....COLD. The next room (Room #7) dealt with the aftermath of the accident. There you could find if the ticket you held belonged to a passenger who lived or died. My mother got Molly Brown (we know her fate), my dad was a Swede that I think died, I was Andrew Brown who died, and Lisa was a survivor. I'm not sure about Crystal and John.
Let's just say I went a bit nuts in the gift shop. I now own exact replicas of 2nd and 3rd class coffee cups, an actual certificate of stock in the company that was cancelled after the wreck, a passenger list on parchment, a replica of the final night's menu, an afghan with Titanic's picture on it, and a necklace with a glass anchor on it. Inside the anchor is actual coal recovered from the wreckage. I now own a piece of Titanic!
Thanks for reading, I had to tell this!
Songs of the Day: "Nearer My God to Thee" and "My Heart Will Go On" from the "Back to Titanic" CD.
Blessings,
SB
