Don Lynch | Titanic Historical Society Historian - Ghosts of the Abyss | COVEpod 32

Titanic Historical Society: Official Historian | Author of "Titanic - An Illustrated History" & "Ghosts of the Abyss" | James Cameron's Historian, Submersible-Mate, & 1997 Titanic Movie Cast Member | Really-Awesome Guy : DON LYNCH

As the Titanic's legacy continues to captivate hearts and minds over a century later, we have the honor of hosting Don Lynch, a historian with an unrivaled dedication to preserving the ship's story and its passengers' memories. Embarking from the shores of finance and sailing into the deep waters of historical research, Don shares the currents of his life that steered him toward becoming a cornerstone of the Titanic community. Our voyage takes a spectacular turn as we revisit the grandeur of James Cameron's "Titanic," a film where Don's expertise was instrumental in crafting an authentic portrayal of the bygone era. Imagine the awe of stepping onto the meticulously recreated sets in Mexico, feeling the texture of the past beneath your feet, and even appearing as an extra among the actors donning period costumes. Through Don's eyes, we peek behind the curtain of the film's production, contrasting the palpable craftsmanship of yesteryear to the virtual landscapes of contemporary cinema. It's a journey through time, evoking nostalgia for a world that once was.

Finally, as the echoes of history reverberate through our conversation, we surface the emotional depths that such tragedies cast upon our collective memory. Don takes us beneath the waves to the Titanic's final resting place, sharing the solemnity of that hallowed ground contrasted with the isolation felt during the 9/11 attacks. From societal lessons on decision-making in crisis to the maritime protocol of "women and children first," our discussion with Don Lynch is not merely a reflection on the past but a beacon, guiding us through the fog of history to glean wisdom for our own era. Join us, and let the tales of the Titanic stir your soul and challenge your perception of the indelible imprints historical events leave upon our world.

TITANIC HISTORICAL SOCIETY: https://titanichistoricalsociety.org/

EPISODE VIDEOS: www.covetube.com
COVE DIRECTORY: https://linktr.ee/covepod
COVE PATREON: www.patreon/covepodcast
CONTACT: [e-mail]

POETRY PERFORMER: Craig Jackman
POETRY: “The Titanic" [ Wilbur D. Nesbit ]
VOICE-OVER INTRODUCTION: Jenette Goldstein ( Irish Mommy "Titanic", Janelle Voight "Terminator 2: Judgement Day", Private Vasquez "Aliens" )
SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM: Craig Jackman, Emily Thatcher, Christina Marie Bielen, Dary Mills, Amanda Benjamin
PATREON CURATORS: Jamie Carganilla, Emily Thatcher, The Faeryns, Charity Swanson, Krista Faith King, Kelsey B Gibson, Angelica Bollschweiler, Anna Giannavola, Gina Dobbs, Merrill Mielke, Susan Kuhn, Josefa Snider
INTRO MUSIC: “Papi Beat” [ KICKTRACKS ]
CREDITS MUSIC: “Fat Banana” [ KICKTRACKS ]
HOST, CREATOR, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, CREATIVE DIRECTOR, EDITOR: Paul Carganilla

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The thing I remember we didn't come up to the bow
like they do in the movies.
You know, we came up to theside and Jim just said Don,
there's your Titanic.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcometo the Carganilla Online Variety
Entertainment podcast.
Here's your host, paulCarganilla.

Speaker 3 (00:25):
Hello and welcome to Cove.
This is the online variety showin which we aim to both
entertain and inspire both ourpodcast listeners and our
YouTube viewers.
There are a variety ofentertainment art forms, music,
poetry, storytelling and fun,exciting special guest

(00:45):
interviews, travel blogs so muchmore.
Speaking of special guests, wehave one I'm truly honored to
have on the show today.
He, as anyone who listens tothis podcast or knows me
personally, knows that while wedo touch on a lot of different
things throughout this podcast,I keep coming back to Titanic
because it is such a huge partof my life and I am, as anybody

(01:09):
who knows, I'm a full-fledgedTitanic and I'm just so
fascinated with every aspect ofboth the movie and the history
of it, and we have a, I wouldsay, a current icon, historical
icon, with us here today.
I can't wait to meet andintroduce everybody too, but
before we get to our specialguests, of course, we need to

(01:30):
check in, say hello, bring thecart back in front of the horse
and around the corner withproducer Craig Jackman.
Hello, producer Craig, Welcome.
Hello everybody.

Speaker 2 (01:40):
Such a great day to see each and every one of you
Not really, we'll see you ifyou're watching us on the
YouTube Such a great day for youto see us.
Exactly, and, paul, what a greatday for us to dive into this

(02:02):
subject again, and especiallysince you know, as we were kind
of talking earlier before westarted this podcast today, how
much of a phenomenon Titanic hasbecome over the last few years
and how it's just ballooned,blossomed, just become an

(02:25):
incredible thing since the movieTitanic came out and James
Cameron and the fact that thisgentleman that we're going to
talk with is part of thatphenomenon and helped to develop
it and build it.

Speaker 3 (02:41):
Something really special about him is, you know,
we've had special guests on thisshow.
Even though we are still inseason one, we've already talked
to a few cast members JudyPreston and C way back in
episode three, alexandra Boyd inDecember and just a couple
weeks ago with Fanny Brett.
We've gotten so many takes onthe Titanic from the movie side,

(03:08):
but he has been such a mainstayin just the pure historical
aspect and relevance ofTitanic's plays in history for
many, many years.
And I'll tell everybody alittle bit more about him.
His name is Don Lynch.
He was born in Cordelaine,idaho.

(03:28):
He was also so he was raised inWashington state, where he
began researching Titanic whilestill in high school in Spokane,
and in the five decades sincehigh school he has traveled to
museums and archives throughoutthe United States, canada,
england and Ireland to conducthis research.
He has met and interviewed 20passengers from the Titanic as

(03:50):
well as numerous relatives ofsurvivors and victims, and for
many years, many years, he hasbeen the official historian for
the Titanic Historical Society.
In 1992, don wrote the text forthe book Titanic and
Illustrated History, which wenton to spend 12 weeks on the New
York Times bestseller.
Director James Cameron hiredDon as the historian for his

(04:15):
movie Titanic and in the summerof 2001, hired him as a
consultant on his Ghosts of theAbyss project, which was a huge,
large format or IMAX, howeveryou call it 3D trip back down to
the Titanic in Russiansubmersible when they filmed it.
It's really somethingspectacular.

(04:37):
If you haven't seen it, checkit out.
But Don also wrote the text forthe companion book to that film
, that documentary Ghosts of theAbyss, and most recently was a
contributor for James Cameron'sbook Exploring the Deep the
Titanic Expeditions.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have somuch to talk to him about.
Please join me in welcoming tothe Carganilla Online Variety

(04:59):
Entertainment podcast Don Lynch.
Thank you very much.
Hello, thank you so much forbeing here.
It is an honor to have you.
As we do with every guest,we're going to put you through
the ringer here with a 60 secondintro.
We've read all the professionalaccolades that we can't wait to

(05:20):
dive into, but we also want toknow more about you as a human.
So what can you tell us aboutDon Lynch, the person in 60
seconds or less?
Are you ready to dive in?

Speaker 1 (05:33):
I guess you talked mostly about the Titanic stuff.
Yes Gosh, am I human?
Well, I graduated fromWashington State University I
was like a third generation ofmy family to go there, got a
degree in finance and afterabout a year or so and spoke, I
realized there were a lot betterjob opportunities in California

(05:53):
and so I moved to Los Angeles,the greater LA area, and
eventually landed in the West.
I thought I wanted to be inbanking but I eventually landed
in government contracting and sohad a long career in the
finance and accounting area inthe government contracting.
I live right kind of in theheart of Los Angeles, just near
downtown.

(06:15):
I at one point decided I had tohave a house.
That existed when the Titanicexisted.
So I got a craftsman home, livein an area called West Adams,
which is a great, great area.
It's fantastic and just alsohad a lot of family in Southern
California.
So when I moved down here,suddenly, you know, I had a lot
more family things going onbecause I had more relatives in
Los Angeles than I didn't spokein.

(06:36):
But pretty much that's it.
I haven't been working fulltime for several years now, just
down to doing propertymanagement, which is not a full
time job.
So have time to, you know,socialize, whatever.
Don't have any current Titanicprojects that I can think of.
A few articles I need to writefor the Historical Society, for

(06:59):
their magazine that I justhaven't gotten to yet.
But that's kind of where thingsare Tell us about.

Speaker 3 (07:05):
let's rewind it way back to as far as you can
remember, your first, earliestmemory of Titanic and connecting
with it and getting hooked.

Speaker 1 (07:14):
Well, I remember as a child reading about it and
encyclopedia you know we hadthose back then and I remember
even saying that peoplecontinued to use the gymnasium
and of course in my mind Ithought of, like you know, a
school gymnasium and I thoughtmaybe they were like, you know,
trapeze bars or something likethat.

(07:34):
You know, I had no idea what itlooked like.
And I remember in grade schoolseeing the 1953 Titanic on
television on a Saturdayafternoon.
My brother said afterwards thatI was a Gog over it, but I also
remember on Monday going toschool and all the kids were
saying did you see Titanic onSaturday on TV?

(07:54):
And so, you know, we reallygrabbed a lot of kids, not just
me, but I, you know, have toadmit.
Finally, what really got meinterested was when the Poseidon
adventure came out, and I'dalways been a nonfiction kind of
kid.
I always was reading about, youknow, nonfiction things and
some disasters I'm not say theSan Francisco earthquake,

(08:16):
whatever.
You know.
I'd find a topic, I'd like itand read more on it than move on
to something else.
And after seeing the Poseidonadventure, I wondered what real
shipwrecks were like, and so Ichecked several books out of the
library, one of which was ANight to Remember by Walter Lord
, and that just grabbed me and Ifinished it and then I read it
a second time.

(08:36):
I just turned right around andread it all over again.
And then very soon after that Iwrote to Harland and Wolfe and
then they recommended I joinedthe Titanic Historical Society
and it just kind of snowballedfrom there.
I started looking for survivorsbecause I got every back issue
of the, what they called acommutator, the magazine of the

(08:57):
Historical Society, and they hadalways made survivors honorary
members and they had been formedin 1963.
And so after 50 years it shouldhave been a lot more survivors
than there were at that time.
And so I knew they hadn't goneactively looking for them.
And I did and found some whowere just living quiet lives in
retirement and then got involvedmore with the society in that

(09:20):
respect, tracking down thesepeople, whatever became of them,
collecting their stories,actually got involved in
organizing conventions for theHistorical Society, and it just,
you know, kind of snowballingfrom there.
I kind of dug a hole I couldn'tclimb out of, and so it's been
part of my life ever since.
But I will have to say I'vemade some incredible friends.
I've really met some wonderful,wonderful people through the

(09:43):
Titanic and I've been very, verypleased with.
You know all the things I'vegotten out of it over the years.

Speaker 3 (09:50):
You mentioned the Historical Society and for
anybody who doesn't know whatthat is, doesn't know the
function of it or history of it,it was created in 1963, if I
remember correctly, and there'sa really fun story, or
interesting story at least, overhow it came to be.

Speaker 1 (10:08):
Yeah, the you know the 50th anniversary had just
happened and New York Papers hadinterviewed several local
survivors in the New York area,and I think it was Ed Commuter
then reached out to one of them,a man named Walter Belford, and
he had passed away, and so hetried to find out what had

(10:30):
happened to his things having todo with the Titanic if he kept
anything relative to it, and hislandlady had thrown everything
out when she cleaned out hisapartment.
He had no family, she threweverything away, and so that
sort of spawned the historicalsociety, so that they would have
a repository for things likethat, that they'd be able to
collect things.
The irony is that WalterBelford was a hoax.

(10:51):
He had never been on theTitanic and so if he had
anything, it probably wasn'tgenuine anyway.
But that's his legacy forhaving been an imposter, is that
he sort of spawned the creationof the Titanic Historical
Society.

Speaker 3 (11:06):
Wow, and what does the society do?

Speaker 1 (11:08):
today.
Well, today they still publisha magazine.
It's not digital.
We meet from time to time, butover the decades have supported
innumerable documentaries.
Books provided information.
They have a small museum in thesuburb of Springfield,
massachusetts, called the IndianOrchard, but now they've
actually been leasing things tothe Titanic exhibits, museums,

(11:32):
attractions, whatever you wantto call them in Branson,
missouri and Pigeon Forge,tennessee, and so you can see a
lot of their things there,because people did donate things
.
They actually got from thefamily of one of the doctors
from the Carpathia the lifejacket that Mrs Astor was
rescued in, because the doctortook it off of her and thought
to himself this is Mrs Astor's,I'd better keep this.

(11:54):
And then, 60 years later,whenever it was, the family
donated it to the HistoricalSociety.
But they have discharged booksthat survivors, the crew members
, had trying to think of, someof the other things that they've
collected over the years, butalso from people themselves and
letters that were maybe mailedfrom the ship that sort of thing
that the people then gave tothe society in their old age

(12:17):
versus maybe passing on tosomebody else they're selling.
And so they've got things thatare museum quality, that they
have on display in differentlocations.
And then we used to do heritagetours back in the 90s and you're
familiar with the actor, paulRudd.
His father was a member of theHistorical Society.
He was a Titanic guy and he hada business where he would put

(12:39):
together tours and not justTitanic things, but he did,
apparently, a great Civil Wartour.
He would do the Normandybeaches, things like that.
And so he approached us in theearly 90s about putting together
a Titanic tour and did a numberof those before he passed away
and we were able to visitHarland and Wolfe when all the
original buildings were stillthere.
They've since been torn down.

(13:02):
He had a knack for opening doors.
Mike was great.
He got us up into the tower ofSt Paul's Cathedral in London,
which isn't open to the public,but they had a service after the
Titanic went down and wheneverthey would do something like
that, the bell ringers logged itin up in the tower.
They've got logbooks and so wewere able to see the logbooks,

(13:23):
but they logged in the differentnumbers that the bell ringers
had performed for the serviceand things like that.
I mean it got us just all overand everywhere to the cemetery
in Halifax, the cemeteries wherea lot of the victims are buried
, that sort of thing, and reallywonderful, wonderful tours.
And unfortunately Mike haspassed away and so we don't have
anybody doing that for us, buta lot of those things aren't

(13:43):
available anymore.
He got us into the Spanishembassy, which was Lord Perry's
home in London.
Well, they don't let anybody inanymore, but we need somebody
like Mike who can really getdoors to open again, and we
don't quite have someone likethat putting tourists together.

Speaker 3 (14:01):
But I know, just from researching and learning as
much as I can, that you I meanI've heard you say that you're
against your anti-salvage of thewreck but so all of the
historical societies, artifactsare things that were passed on
from survivors or came from,like Harlan and Wolfe, the

(14:23):
shipyard where it was built.

Speaker 1 (14:25):
Yes, yeah, there are things that people actually
maybe took off the ship withthem in the lifeboats, that sort
of thing, and nothing that wasbrought up from the wreck which
couldn't be in the historicalsocieties possession.
Anyway, those things are notallowed to leave the company
that has what they're called thesalvers in possession.
But my attitude is they weren'tbrought up in an archaeological

(14:51):
fashion.
They didn't document whereexactly they came from, because
where things landed when theship broke up tells part of the
story, forensically of how theship broke up.
And now we're missing thosepieces.
They're taken.
It's like going to a murder site.
You start picking up thebullets and just walking off
with them without identifyingwhere you dug them out of the
wall or whether you picked themup off the floor, and so it

(15:15):
hasn't been treatedarchaeologically and so we've
lost a lot.
And I will say, if you look atwhen Robert Ballard and that
team found it way back in the80s, if you look at the photos
like he sent down camera sledsthat just would skim above the
bottom, and here are all thesethings right exactly where they
landed, and it's just fantasticfootage and we'll never see that

(15:37):
again.
We can't ever take footage likethat again, and if any areas he
missed, which are probably many, they'll never be photographed.
Well now, because they've beenpicked over.
And so I'm very much againstsalvage and I appreciate the
fact that when Jim went downthere he was able to explore the
inside of the ship withouthaving to worry about it having
been picked over already.

(15:58):
It was as it was left, whereasit's slowly decaying.

Speaker 3 (16:04):
Well, he had to find Cal's safe, of course.

Speaker 1 (16:06):
Oh yeah, see that safe was still there.

Speaker 3 (16:11):
We'll talk more about the movie in just a minute, but
we mentioned it in your bio.
Any Titanic enthusiast has yourbook.
It is a mainstay of anycollection Titanic and
Illustrated History.
How did this come about fromyour beginnings, and did it come
from just a matter of doingresearch for the historical

(16:33):
society, or what was the In away, yes, but the story is
without stepping on toes.

Speaker 1 (16:44):
Ken Marshall, the artist, did a lot of work for
Robert Ballard's Discovery ofthe Titanic and that book became
a million bestseller, whatever.
And Ken went back to thepublishers and said really, you
should do a book about the shipthat starts from when it was an
idea all the way through topresent, not just about the
discovery.
And they said well, we've donethe Titanic.

(17:07):
It's could have been done todeath.
And then the editor admittedthat they would go to these
bookselling conventions andother publishers kept saying to
them what are you doing yournext Titanic book?
So they came back and my memoryis that they now thought it was
their idea to do this book andnot Ken's, even though he had
already suggested it to him.

(17:27):
But they came back andsuggested doing this book that
Ken would illustrate and such.
And then, as the historian forthe Historical Society, I was
asked to write the text for itand that was the birth of
Titanic and Illustrated History.
And of course that was over 30years ago now and, I'll admit it
, it's outdated.
We know things about the wrecknow and obviously there are a

(17:48):
few mistakes that crept in.
I haven't read a book yet thatdidn't have mistakes, but it'd
be great, and people are alwaysasking when we're going to
update it.
But publishing isn't what itwas 30 years ago, and so I don't
think that's going to happen.

Speaker 3 (18:02):
It made me think too, when you were talking about the
salvaging and the story to betold, like how technology has
grown and we have these scansnow that are they're altered.
They're not what.
It's not an accurate picture ofhow it actually hit and came to
rest on the ocean floor due tothe salvaging.

(18:24):
Just a thought that I had.
Now, as we go, I have to showyou something and it is actually
right here.
I brought it.
It's normally on my walldownstairs.
I've mounted it.
My wife it is a.
It was an anniversary presentfor my wife this past year for
our 15th anniversary.
She found it and it wasobviously salvaged from the

(18:48):
movie set and the gentleman whosold it to her sent us this
certificate of authenticity andhe put your name on it and
Judy's name on it and a photo.
He included a photo of himselfwith you and Judy back in, I

(19:08):
believe.
Let's see it's dated Decemberof 2000.
And when I got this in May Ihad no idea that, like you know,
between then and now I'd get tomeet you and Judy, and I
happily call Judy a friend now.
But this gentleman's name wasWilliam J Miller and just

(19:29):
thought that was superinteresting that he sent us
these photos, and here we aretalking now.

Speaker 1 (19:35):
Great, yeah.
I mean I can't certify theauthenticity of that artifact,
but I'm pleased my name wasassociated and that's great that
is me in the photo.
There's no doubt about it.

Speaker 3 (19:49):
That's what Judy said too.
She's like I'm not really surewhy I have my names on that, but
okay, cool.
So was it from the book andthat kind of brought.
How did you and James Cameronbecome connected and how did you
become involved in his film?

Speaker 1 (20:08):
Well, you know I heard there was this movie
coming.
You know that he was working onthis movie and I thought, you
know, it never occurred to methat it would be so based on
accuracy I can say I mean, Iknow people don't like the Jack
and Rose story and Jack and Roseor fiction, and you know I

(20:31):
don't have a problem with themat all.
I mean I think it's fine.
But you know you got to do whatyou got to do to get people into
the theater and you know somepeople are such diehard fanatics
that they don't care you know,they think that you know $200
million should have been spentto make a documentary.
Not going to happen.
But anyway, so I didn't think Iwould really be involved in it
because I figured, OK, well, ifthere's a fictional storyline,

(20:53):
then I, just as a sidebar.
For years people would come tome and say, oh, I'm writing a
fictional novel about theTitanic.
Would you read it for accuracy?
And it's like well, how do Iknow what you want to be
accurate in what's fiction?
You said it's a fictional novel, so what are you asking me to
do?
And so I kind of went in withthat attitude.

(21:14):
Well, you know, Ken was moreexcited than I was, we'll say at
the time.
And so he actually reached outto Jim's production company and
he said well, Don Lynch and Ihave written this book and we're
here in the Los Angeles area,if you know, you'd like us to be
involved.
And the woman he spoke withsaid we've been trying to find

(21:37):
you.
And so it turned out that Jimhad used that book, Illustrated
History, to pitch the movie toPeter Churnin, the head of Fox.
He actually, you know, I'mhonest, you know I'll believe it
was the pictures, you know,because he's pitching a movie,
he's not pitching, you know, anaudiobook or something.
But he laid it on the table infront of him and said I am going
to put this on the big screen.

(21:58):
It's going to be Romeo andJuliet on the Titanic, and so,
which was pretty exciting tohear, that.
And then you know they, youknow all the production people
were all given copies of thebook and everything, and just so
they'd be familiar with thestory.
And so, you know, Ken and Iactually met with Jim very early
, when the script wasn't evendone, to go through it, because,

(22:21):
just up front, how muchaccuracy are we going to have?
And, for example, if I haveJack and Rose here and I need
them to be here, you know, fiveminutes later can they go from
point A to point B withouthaving to climb eight flights of
stairs and then run the lengthof the ship?
That sort of thing, you know,just, and he's he's an

(22:43):
incredibly brilliant guy and I'msure he probably could have
figured out just in five secondsby looking at a deck plan.
But he wanted our input and so,you know, we just sat down with
him and we went through what'scalled we call it treatment at
the time and, you know, gave him, you know, our opinion,
whatever and things and like,yes, this works, this doesn't
that sort of thing, and ofcourse it's still his to take

(23:04):
and run with.
It is whatever direction he sawfit.
And then we were basically justwelcome to come down to Mexico.
They filmed early the Halifaxscenes, the things on board, the
Kaldish, the recovery, thepresent day stuff, but all of
the 1912 scenes.
You know.
They built this huge set downin Mexico and we were given the

(23:26):
run of the place.
And I remember the first time Iwas down there and Jim said you
can go anywhere you want.
He said, just don't stand undera crane or in front of a moving
vehicle.
And of course I look back andthink he probably should have
said stay out of the ladies room.
You know, but you know it justwe could go wherever we wanted,
you know.
And we did have the run of theset and you know we did just.

(23:48):
I mean, you know, kids in acandy store got to go down
anytime we wanted.
And you know, if they weren'tfilming we would just wander all
over the ship and the setsbecause the interiors are not
inside the ship.
People think that they builtone big, huge sort of replica
ship with the insides inside itand they're not.
The interiors were on soundstages, they weren't inside the

(24:09):
ship replica.
But you know, so we just hadthe best time and I, Ken, went
down there before I did, andwhen he called me, I mean really
I thought he was going to crybecause the sets were so
realistic, and so it really wasexciting to to walk the sets and
I really did feel like I was,you know, really, there.

(24:32):
I guess you could say, and youknow, I would walk on the boat
deck and I would think, well,gosh, there is the doorway that
Mrs Snyder told me she came outof when she came up with her
husband to go to the boats, andyou know, and here's the
lifeboat that you had, Haysmansaid that she was in.
And then, when I got in thedining room set for the first
time, and I just looked aroundand I was thinking, I wonder
where the Strauss is set and Iwonder where the Clarks set, and

(24:54):
then I had to stop and say,well, they weren't here ever.
You know, I had to remindmyself that I'm actually not
there, but it was so spot onperfect, and so I just was
overwhelmed.
It was just, you know,fantastic that we could go down
there and be a part of that.
And then, you know, we had theopportunity to come down and be

(25:17):
extras and Ed and Karen Commutabeing the founder of this
historical society, they flewout because, you know, they kind
of had an idea, I think, thatthey would just have Ken and me
in the background, playing cardsin the smoking room, and you
couldn't guarantee what daythey'd be filming in interior,
because if the weather was great, they'd be doing exterior shots

(25:38):
and they might plan to dointerior.
And then suddenly the sun's out, it's perfect, and it's like
well, we're not doing interiorscenes, we're going to do these
scenes.
And so somebody finally saidyou just need to plant yourself
for a week and we'll get you insomething.
And so, and Ken wasn't available, he couldn't take a whole week
off of his schedule, but I did,and it was actually Thanksgiving

(25:59):
week, so I didn't have to misstoo much work and I went down
and I, you know, got suited upand almost immediately they said
go, stand next to that littleboy.
And I did and they said you looklike you could be his father,
Go up on deck.
And it turned out.
It was the scene where Jimreproduced one of the father
brown photos.
There was a Jesuit student,Francis Brown, who later became

(26:21):
a priest who was on board onlyas far as Ireland, and he
brought his camera and tookseveral photos that are famous
today, and one of them is ofthis little boy spinning atop
while his father and a few otherpeople look on.
And Jim was going to reproduce,and I knew he was going to
reproduce it.
You know, in the movie it wasin the script.
I didn't realize that's whatthey were filming that day, and
so I got to be Frederick Speddenand be the father of the little

(26:43):
boy spinning the top.

Speaker 3 (26:45):
That's so neat.
Yeah, I remember it's a scenefor anyone listening where Jack
hops up onto the deck where he'snot supposed to be and steals
the jacket and there's the twomen standing with the boy
spinning the top.
And how surreal did it feel tobe.
I mean, I'm sure you saw thephoto many, many times before

(27:07):
playing the role.

Speaker 1 (27:08):
Yeah, oh, I'd met the Spedden family.
I mean, I, you know, so it'sthat was.
You know, when people think itwas deliberate and it wasn't,
and even Jim was surprised andwe didn't realize at the time.
You know, he made the othergentleman just be Mr Ryerson,
just pulled a name off thepassenger list and at the time I

(27:28):
knew the granddaughter ofEdward Crosby and she'd actually
been in London at the time.
She was old enough that she wasalive at the time of the
Titanic disaster and was almosta passenger.
And one day she just said youknow, my grandfather was
photographed on the Titanic andshe's like she never said that
before.
And I said, really she said, ohyeah, it appeared in papers at
the time and you know you couldtell it was him because he was

(27:50):
sort of a hunchback, he'd had aninjury in the Civil War.
Well, that's who the otherperson in the photo was.
And if she had said that monthsearlier we would have corrected
the script and we would havehad the right identity for that
man.
But anyway, so I knew basicallyeverybody in the photo.
I met their families and so itwas really exciting to be in
that scene.
That was really wonderful.
I did have another scene, butit got cut, so that was okay.

Speaker 3 (28:14):
The cutting room floor.
Yeah, so you mentioned the setsand the interior sets.
I just know from being a hugelike, having a background in
filmmaking and being a huge fanof the film.
These weren't like, hey, thisroom is in this soundstage, this

(28:35):
room is in this soundstage.
These were massive,multi-floored recreations in
huge sound stages.
What was it like?
Walking the halls, going up anddown the stairs of the ship
that you had studied your entirelife and seen only pictures of
black and white photos, orpictures of it on the bottom of

(28:57):
the ocean?
What was that feeling?

Speaker 1 (29:01):
It really was an incredible feeling and you did
feel you were there.
And you know some of the roomswere on different sound stages,
for example the gymnasium,because it really didn't connect
to any other room, so it didn'tmatter.
But you could literally walkout of Rosa's Suite, down the
corridor, down the grandstaircase, through the reception
room and into the dining roomand never know you were on a set

(29:23):
, because all the walls had beenbuilt, everything was there and
that way they could film fromany angle.
And it was heartbreaking whenthey were filming because if
they needed to get a camera upabove they'd cut a hole in the
ceiling or something, and alsothe ventilation was very poor.
It was Mexico and so it was hot.
And I remember for some of thedining room scenes, you know

(29:45):
they had huge blowers, you know,and they had to cut holes in
the walls to get air in just tomake them comfortable, because
you couldn't have everybodysitting there sweating and
supposedly April in NorthAtlantic.
But up until then it wasfantastic.
And of course you know I had todescend the grand staircase and
run back up again and descendit a few times just through the
feeling of it, and but Iremember standing there and it

(30:10):
was just perfect and justlooking around and thinking gosh
, and then suddenly a bell rangand all the extras were coming
in for the dining room scene,where they all sit around the
big table and had dinner, andsuddenly all these people in
costume were flooding into thereception room and I was like,
oh my gosh, the passengers arearriving for dinner.

(30:32):
And when everybody's in costumeand I found that when I was
suited up as an extra, whenyou're all dressed like in 1912,
it feels normal.
You don't feel like you'redressed for another period
because everybody around you isdressed the same way, and it
just felt right.
I guess it's like today, I mean, we all dress like it's 2024.

(30:53):
And 20 years from now we'll alldress like it's 2044.
And we'll forget that it seemednormal 20 years earlier that we
looked like this and so that'sjust how it was.
I mean it just seemed perfectlynormal and right.
I mean I could go on about theclothes, because I will say
clothes were different.

(31:13):
They gave me these.
Well, they gave me this outfitand I didn't even know how to
tie a tie, you know, genuinelyor even fasten the collar, you
know, because they're separatecollars and I was being the
somewhat special person, I gotto have like a private dressing
room which was just a littlecubicle of cloth.
And then, you know, and theygave me a dresser, you know

(31:34):
William, who probably didn'tlike me because you know I
needed his help and he hadplenty of other people to help.
But you know, when I put on thepants, I said, well, I think
the legs are too long, and theywere like, no, pull them up.
And you know, they came uphalfway up your chest and that's
where pants were worn then.
And then you wore a vest overit.
So today, of course, we wearpants as far up as our waist.

(31:55):
Back then they wore them higherfor whatever reason.
And then you know, maybe Ican't remember, I must have had
suspenders or something, butthen you know you had a vest
over it, so it doesn't reallyshow.
And so then, of course, when Ipulled them up that far, the
legs are fine.
And then you know the coat andeverything over it.
But it just seemed right, youknow, it just worked out.

Speaker 3 (32:14):
So much of character building and world building is
really what we're wearing, andwe talk about that as actors a
lot, you know, as when you'replaying a role and you put on
your character's clothes like itdoes something internally to
you Because it creates a world.
And yeah, I can imagine how onset, it was the crew members

(32:34):
that seemed like they weredressed funny.

Speaker 1 (32:37):
Well, it's so funny today and because filmmaking has
come so far in 25 years, andtoday Jim particularly because
he's always cutting edge wouldnot have built those sets.
You know, today it'd be likewith Avatar.
Avatar is almost exclusivelygreen screen, I believe and
imagine acting where you can'tsee your surroundings and you're

(32:58):
not in costume, and yet youhave to act a scene.
And I have to give actorscredit today, because if you can
work on Avatar, you know youare a real actor.
I mean, it blows me away.
You know how far filmmaking hascome, that you don't even have
to do all the sets and thecostumes, it'll all be added

(33:19):
later.
And so I think Titanic was likethe last real epic movie that
will ever have those kinds ofsets.

Speaker 3 (33:27):
I agree 100%.
I spent last summer, or was ittwo summers ago now.
My daughter's an actress andshe was in the most recent
Robert Rodriguez movie.
He made all the Spy Kids movies.
He just made a new one forNetflix, and so we're on set the
whole summer and he's got thesehuge studios filled with green
screens for these movies.
And I remember one day she andher co-star were doing the scene

(33:51):
where they're reacting to thegreen screen, something's coming
at them, and between takes,robert gave them direction and
Everly my daughter asked whatare we reacting to?
And I just thought isn't thatinteresting Like he's like look
scared, look scared.
And she's like what is it?

Speaker 1 (34:09):
Yeah, yeah.
What's my motivation?
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (34:14):
I heard from Star Wars actors from when they did
the reboot back in the late 90swhen I was in high school that
they felt like it kind of madethem better actors because they
had to imagine everything and itwas their imagination that was
giving them the surroundings.
But I mean, how could you get amore authentic performance than
standing on the Titanic whenwater is coming in and all these

(34:36):
people?
I just can't, yeah.

Speaker 1 (34:38):
Well, we did when we did Ghost of the Abyss, the 3D
IMAX large format film, and wedid a lot of that green screen
we didn't have because we werethe ghosts and so we didn't have
all the sets or whatever.
But even then and it was alldone with extras and even then
some of the ladies were cryingwhen they were imagining looking
back at the ship sinking withtheir loved ones on board

(35:00):
everything.
And people really got into it.
I guess you could say whowouldn't Like on Titanic one
time.
There's the one scene which isbased on a real situation where
Lifeboat 13 drifts underneathLifeboat 15 as it's coming down
and of course they startscreaming stop lowering.

(35:20):
They thought it was Lifeboat 14.
They're screaming but stoplowering.
And they stopped.
And Jim was like why did youjust stop lowering?
They said, well, they said toand they were so convincing,
even though they were extras.
And Jim even thought imagineextras who can act Because they
in that boat were so convincingand screaming in terror that

(35:42):
this boat was about to crushthem that the extras on deck and
I don't know what you call themthey were.
I mean, I don't imagine theyhave an extra, extra lowering
the boat.
They'd be more engineering typepeople, or whatever you call
them, the special not specialeffects, but stunt people,
gramps, but anyway.
But they actually believed it.

(36:04):
They heard others yelling andscreaming and they stopped
lowering Even though the camerawas still rolling and nobody had
said cut.
So you know, it does help, Ithink, in a situation like that
to have the set there,especially if you're not a
professional actor.
It makes it easier to envisionit when you're not used to
acting.

Speaker 3 (36:21):
Alexandra Boyd's movie Ship of Dreams, titanic
movie diaries has a lot of theactors reading their diaries and
Rebecca Klingler, the mother atStern, said one of her quotes
was suddenly the screams thatwere coming out of me were my
own.
They weren't my charactersanymore because they were in
just such an intense situation.
She, the actress, was screaming.
Yes, got to help theperformance let's talk real

(36:44):
quick about.
You mentioned Ghost of theAbyss, the movie that you worked
with.
The follow up movie was aboutsix or seven years after that.
You filmed Titanic and you gotto go down to see it.
Tell us about that.

Speaker 1 (36:58):
Well, august 20, august 17th, August 27th, let me
think.
Oh yeah, august 27th, 2001 wasmy first dive and Jim took me
down there.
I was just eye candy becausebasically you've got the pilot
and the photographer and there'sone extra seat because, you

(37:19):
know, the two people aspassengers can go down in these
Russian submersibles.
And Jim took me down along andyou know it, it was, I got.
Well, I will say I always tellthe story that I really was
nervous.
I was very, very nervous aboutthis and you know what happens,
what happens, and I even toldsomeone on, you know the Keldish

(37:40):
, one of the production people.
I said I've never beenclaustrophobic in my life.
What happens if I get to thebottom of the ocean and I have a
panic attack?
And he honestly said theRussians keep a really big
wrench in the submersiblebecause you can't have a panic
attack and start thrashingaround.
He said they would just clubyou over the head and say well,
that's comforting.
And I will say it's alsocomforting to know and it's, I

(38:02):
mean, it's tragic to say thisnow after what happened this
last year, but if there's eventhe tiniest pinhole, the thing
will implode and there's, youdon't even know what happened,
it's over in an instant, there'sno suffering and that actually
comforting.
And so and then, but I can, youknow bill packs and was nervous
about going down and he said hetold glorious story, he was
going to do this and she wentoff about how he had no business

(38:23):
going down at the bottom of theocean when he had young
children at home and blah, blah,blah, and so it's been an
action movies and he's nervous.
And finally, when I got intothe submersible and looked
around and all I thought, ohokay, this is where I'm gonna be
for the rest of the day.
And I realized what was makingme nervous was I just didn't
know what it looked like.
I didn't even I couldn'tPicture the inside of the

(38:45):
submersible.
Once I got inside, looked around, it's like okay, and you know
the first dive, I made it pointnot to look at the hatch because
in my mind, that separates mefrom death, even though,
realistically, everything aroundyou separate you from death.
Right, and there wasn't a lotof room because a lot of camera
equipment there were.
You know, even little boycalled lipstick cameras are like
little tiny cameras pointing atus.
So you know you don't want touse the pee bottle, unless

(39:06):
you've covered up the camera.
But anyway, and I didn't haveto, like you know, you know you
endurance test but Went down,had spectacular time and just
you only get to look out of aport hole and it's, you know,
very small.
The pilot gets the bigger porthole and the side of the

(39:28):
submersible is so thick youcan't look at an angle, you only
look straight out.
And I kept wanting to look atthe camera monitors, because the
cameras mounted, mountedoutside the submersible, were
panning and tilting and seeingall kinds of stuff and I had to
keep reminding myself don't?
You can look at those later,you can see all the footage
later.
Look out the portal and thething I remember we didn't come

(39:49):
up to the bow like they do inthe movies, you know.
We came up to the side and Jimjust said Don, there's your
Titanic.
And we started rising up theside and I've always studied the
story, I studied what happened.
I'm not the visual historianlike Ken Marshall where he's
painted the ship and done.
You know, all theseillustrations and paintings and

(40:10):
those, every port hole and thecircumference and every you know
rivet.
And we're rising up the sideand I knew where I was and it
was like, oh my gosh, I knew theship better than I thought.
After all these years studyingit, I didn't realize I knew what
this was like.
Here we are, this is like Ddeck, this is where the
reception room is, and then, youknow, here's C deck, which

(40:31):
means that that's the Strauss'ssuites, then those windows there
, which means that then ofcourse we have the cardezas
above that.
And you know, I knew who wasbehind who rooms are behind
those port holes, and so I knewit better than I thought.
I remember it being morecolorful down there than it even
appears on film, and I don'tknow why that is.
It just struck me the greensare more vivid.

(40:52):
Anything that corrosion on it,whatever, just things like that,
were more vivid.
And so we did a bunch of filmingand but this little warning
light kept going off, and, andso you know to finally said you
know, don't worry.
He said it's a hydraulic issue,we're not in danger.
And I said well, I soon, if wewere, you would have stopped

(41:14):
filming.
And he just said Don't be sosure.
And so he's, he was kiddingaround, but finally reached the
point where I think they decidedjust have to go back, because
you know the Russian pilotdecides Whether you stay down
any longer or not.
You know if he decides yourdive is over, that he's in
charge.
And so I can't remember exactlyoff the top of my head, but I

(41:34):
think it's like an eight hourdive or something, and it's two
hours to get down and two hoursto get back, and so he must have
been at least four hours downthere, maybe longer, and then my
next dive we were in the secondyear, mere two, and it was Ken
and me and a different pilot,and that was on nine eleven, and
so we left the surface andwe're on our way down and Jim's

(41:58):
brother, john David Cameron hewas part of the expedition.
He I say radio, because it's allacoustic.
There is no radio underwater,you can't transmit radio waves
underwater, but you can transmitacoustically.
And so he said something thatwas sort of a code.
He was in security, in themilitary, and so he had this

(42:18):
code worked out for the familyin case there was ever a
national emergency, and, and youknow, we could hear a world
trade and something else.
And and then finally Jimanswered back and said I don't
know what you're saying, and sohe didn't have it memorized.
And so then he just saidthere's been a terrorist attack
on the world trade center andall flights are grounded.

(42:39):
And we thought that time, youknow, a few years earlier, when
somebody set off a bomb in theparking structure, and so we
couldn't reconcile why all theflights were grounded, what does
that have to do with it?
And so we continued on our dive, and this was a rescue dive.
We had lost one of the roboticcameras inside the reception
area, and so we gun back now andJim, and mere one, was going to

(43:03):
try to hook the thing with justa close hook, because we didn't
have manipulative arms thatcould reach inside the ship.
He was just going to send inthe other camera with a little
hook and try to hook it, and hedid and we're providing lighting
.
So he kept motoring up the sideof the Titanic and then shining
these bright lights in the Ddeck doorway as we passed.
And then we go back and do itover and over, which took a lot
of juice, you know.

(43:23):
It took a lot of electricityfor the lights as well as
motoring around.
And so the thing was rescued,everybody was happy, we're
excited.
And then we reached about 50%of power.
So I think that dive was aboutnine hours that day, and at that
point, when you reach 50%, theRussians say no more.
You know, they're very careful,you know they're, it's all
cautious.
It's great having twosubmersibles.

(43:43):
If one of them got stuck, theother one could come and help
you out.
But you know they're verycareful and they don't, you know
, play games with lives.
And so it was like, ok, we haveto go back.
And so we got back up, and whenwe got to the surface, you know
we had, you know we'd forgottenall about the you know message.
We talked about it briefly onthe way back up, saying I wonder
what happened Now, was it?

(44:03):
But we were so excited that werescued this robotic camera that
we needed so much for all thisfilming and we got to the top
and of course he asked us, youknow, now it went and all that.
We were all very excited andthen after about 10 minutes
built, paxton broke it to uswhat had happened that day.
So that was, you know, reallyan awful you know thing,
obviously for everybody.
But I always look back becauseI the feeling I had that day was

(44:30):
that I had left the surface ofthe earth To go to the bottom of
the ocean and when I came backI came back to a different
planet.
It wasn't the same earth I knewwhen I left that morning.
It was a completely differentplanet and you couldn't go back
again.
You know you can't get back inthe submersible and go back to
the one you left.
And so it was just, you know,of course it was horrible for

(44:53):
everybody.
And then here we were way outthere and you know, you know,
some people, you know, I think,had relatives on things.
I actually had a distantrelative on one of the planes
and but I had, you know,relatives who worked in the
World Trade Center and I had arelative who worked in the
Pentagon.
And Finally I realized I couldget ahold of my aunt, something.

(45:14):
Her phone number popped in myhead and we had a land.
We had not a landline, we hadone dedicated line where you
could dial anywhere, and so, youknow, cell phones weren't as
common then, right, and I wasable to call her and she was
able to tell me that everybodywas fine and all that so.
But it was just and I've sincebeen told that that day there

(45:34):
were three people in outer spaceand six people at the bottom of
the ocean and that wereconsidered among the nine most
remote people in the world on9-11.
So it's just kind of a Littlething you can hang your hat on,
I guess.
So that that was that experiencethat day, but but it was as far
as diving on the Titanic, likeI said, it was exciting to be
able to rescue the bot andeverything.

(45:56):
And On one of the dives I can'tremember which one I kept
thinking about the survivors,you know it's like, oh my gosh,
this is where so-and-so was andthis is so-and-so and you know
whatever.
And then on the other dive, Ikept thinking about the victims.
It's like, okay, here's whatthe band played and here's where
mr Mrs Strauss, you know,didn't get into a lifeboat that
sort of thing, and so kind ofeach, each group of people got

(46:19):
their due on my two dives, andso that that was.
That whole expedition wasincredible.
I We'd never explored theinterior, it hadn't really been
explored in detail, nobody'dever been able to send robotic
cameras so deep into the shipbefore and it.
It was just Phenomenal to goout there not knowing what we
were gonna find, and I alwayslikened it like going to Skull

(46:42):
Island, because we heard of thisgreat ape called Kong and that
we were off to find it.
You know, it felt like that, Imean.
And then, of course, going backto St John's, newfoundland,
after 9-11, because we'd go backevery so many weeks Just to,
you know, refuel, get new food,whatever.
And now suddenly the whole cityis just packed with people from
all these Grounded flights andthey were sleeping in the

(47:04):
hallways in the hotels andthings like that, and they're
all being fed at the gym in thehigh school and it was just, you
know, a whole different town,different world, everything.

Speaker 3 (47:15):
Well, we're running up against the clock, but I know
you've said so many times, likeyou're, what fascinates you
most.
Of course you, you will knowyou will forget more about the,
the ship, the Titanic, than I'llever know, but you're more
interested in the people, andthe people stories is is really
what sticks with you.
Before we wrap up, can you tellus one, or what is your?

(47:39):
What is the favorite lessonthat you've learned from talking
to survivors?
Or the thing that just stickswith you the most?

Speaker 1 (47:47):
Well, gosh, off the top of my head.
It's hard to say I I Usuallyquote Edwina trout because she
was the oldest one I knew.
She was 27 at the time.
She was kind of in command ofher own destiny.
She was traveling alone, shebought her own ticket, that sort
of thing, and, and the onething that pops into my head and

(48:08):
I've shared this a lot is youknow, ken, and I asked her one
time why did you wait until thevery last lifeboat?
And she said well, back then,when a ship sank, you died.
And so we have to remember.
We always say why didn't thatperson get into a lifeboat and
why didn't they?
You know Whatever?
And we have to remember, theydidn't know that if you got into

(48:29):
a lifeboat, you would berescued.
We know that we have 2020hindsight.
We know that everybody who gotinto a lifeboat survived.
They had no idea that that wasgoing to be true.
And so here was a single girl.
No one was dependent upon her,she made peace with it, she was
ready to go down with the ship,and then someone walked up with
a baby and asked her to save thebaby, and she knew the only way

(48:52):
that could happen was that shegot into a boat, so she got into
the very last lifeboat and thenlived under the 73 years.
But that that's kind of alesson I use a lot is that, you
know, we, we have to rememberthat we have 2020 hindsight,
when we're studying the Titanic.
And they didn't yeah.

Speaker 3 (49:07):
I was interested In the women and children first
thing, where that came from, andso I researched it one day and,
as I understand it, the, theocean was so well respected by
men that it was understood.
Men understood if you're goingto get on a ship, if it sinks
you're gonna die, and and takingwomen and children on that ship

(49:30):
meant you're responsible forthem and they.
They have no business out there, and so if the ship goes down,
you need to save them first.
Is that how you understand it?

Speaker 1 (49:39):
Yeah, and that it originated.
I can't remember the name ofthe shipwreck, but there was a
shipwreck, and I think in the1890s, 1880s, 1890s if I heard
the name, I'd know.
But when it went down that wasthe first one where I guess they
had enough time to really havethe men step aside and let the
women and children go first andIn it, you know, when you think

(50:01):
of that, you know, of coursechildren shouldn't be expected
to fend for themselves and Women, in a sense, were the weaker
sex and of course, if you putthem in a dress that goes all
the way to the floor, you knowthey're not as limber, and so
you know it.
It made sense, but it wasn'tworldwide.
And Ruth Becker, who was comingfrom India, her father Stayed

(50:25):
behind.
He couldn't, he couldn't comeon the Titanic.
They you couldn't get afurlough from being a minister
and so he didn't get to comewith his family, which saved his
life, and you know, she and hersiblings and her mother were
rescued.
But he told them afterwardsthat all of a sudden, this wave
swept over India because ofcourse, you know, men are the
dominant sex in India and womenwere second-class citizens and

(50:46):
they'd never heard of womenfirst.
And Suddenly, when they heardabout the Titanic disaster, at
least for a while there, therewas this sort of attitude that
you know you take care of thewoman first.
Now in India, and I don't thinkit lasted forever, but that was
the the effect the Titanic hadon the world at the time.

Speaker 3 (51:06):
Wow.
Well, you are a legend in mymind and I am so honored that
you sat down with us and spentsome time with us.
I am very grateful for it, foryour time and for joining us
here on cove podcast.
Thank you so much, john.
Thank you this has been fun Allright.
Ladies and gentlemen at home,please give it up.
For mr the legend, I should sayDon.

Speaker 2 (51:31):
Wow, the first-hand knowledge of the I mean in a
sense now, of course, in ourlifetime, of the unveiling of
this huge story that took tookplace so many years ago and he
was right there and To go downthat far in the ocean.

(51:54):
I mean we've seen movies aboutit, but to actually have someone
go down and experience whatit's like, I mean that is
incredible.
Voyage to the bottom of the sea, the abyss these are movies
that just you know, in a sensecelebrate this, or even more
recently, aquaman, but it's notas intense as when you, when

(52:15):
you're taking a Submarine or abath.
A scap, I think, is what theywould call those types of
Vessels that would go down thatfar.

Speaker 3 (52:23):
I I just kept thinking about, like the
blessings we always say on thispodcast.
You know and and you know peoplepreach it all the time but when
you follow your heart and Doors, doors will open and a lot of
times you know, based on what'shappening in your life.
You can't always dedicateyourself or apply yourself to
your passion or your heart'sfire, but when you see that

(52:45):
happen in life, like this manWas intrigued by the Titanic,
did all this research by it,became an expert, wrote a book
and then he's he gets free, runof the set.
When James Cameron recreatesthe Titanic to be able to
explore that and see the thingsyou've been reading about, and
for so long, and then, on top ofthat too, then five years later

(53:06):
, be able to, it just blew mymind.
He's telling the story of goingdown to the bottom of the ocean
and Viewing the Titanic withyour bare eyes through a
porthole, sitting next to JamesCameron, who lit this Titanic
flame.
What an amazing and charmedExistence to be able to, when

(53:27):
that's your passion, to be ableto have both of those
experiences in your life.

Speaker 2 (53:31):
Oh yeah, and like you when you hear his description
of actually seeing it, mmm you.

Speaker 3 (53:40):
Yeah, I was able to see the big piece.
Did the whole thing about it ona previous episode, but seeing
it recovered from the bottom ofthe ocean is already like as a
gut punch.
You feel it when you're in theroom.
You feel the soul of theTitanic and everyone who died on
board.
But I can't imagine seeing iton the bottom of the ocean, and

(54:01):
I say in its entirety, but asmuch as you can see out of a
porthole this big so you don'tdie.

Speaker 2 (54:07):
Yeah, and you can imagine how powerful that is,
and given the power of the sea,and especially at that time,
because I found a really neatpoem from an American poet by
the name of Wilbur D Nesbitt andit's about the Titanic and it

(54:27):
brings up some interestingpoints about it's not nice to
fool with mother nature.

Speaker 3 (54:34):
But very Titan appropriate.
What's the title?

Speaker 2 (54:39):
It is called the Titanic.

Speaker 3 (54:42):
Oh well, ladies and gentlemen at home, it is my
pleasure to introduce pretty SirCraig Jackman's interpretation
of the poem the Titanic, writtenby Wilbur D Nesbitt.

Speaker 2 (55:10):
Now, this was the work of the hand of man, the
dream of a prideful brain thatthe wrath that sleeps in the
rolling deep might waken tostrengthen vain.
We build it, a ship that wasone of might.
We build it at staunch andstrong.
We forged its keel to its ribsof steel.

(55:33):
We fashioned it wide and long.
We said there was not thatmight humble it, no power in sea
or sky, and it broke as a crumb, twixed finger and thumb when
the ocean made reply.
There were long decks where thegay folks strolled and the wake

(55:56):
was a white, white foam and thejewels gleamed and the people
dreamed of the strength thatbear them home.
There were billows high thatthe bowcliffed flair and as
scornfully tossed aside.
For the ship was great and ithastened straight with no
halting for wind or tide.

(56:17):
We said there was not thatmight bid it pause, no power in
wind or wave, but an echoingsurge is the only dirge that is
murmured above its grave.
Now the sea is deep and the seais strange and is jealous of all
men do, and it takes its tollas its billows roll and it

(56:41):
answers with wreck and hue.
It has been unchanged since thebirth of time and it palsies
the hand of man, though he workin pride and with faith beside
in his cunning toil and plan.
We said of the ship it wouldkeep its course and mock at the

(57:02):
sky and sea.
Then a swift caught breath andthe call of death in a mocking
and strident key.
Now, this was the work of thehand of man, a mighty and
wondrous thing.
And we told the sea it no moremight be over man and his works

(57:23):
the king.
We made it as strong as hundredships that threaded the seas of
yore and it lies today when thelong swells play through the
wrecks on the ocean floor.
We said there was not, thatmight humble it, no power in sea

(57:45):
or sky.
And it broke as a crumb, twist,finger and thumb when the ocean
made reply.

Speaker 3 (58:11):
I am so thankful for our entire Patreon community.
If you haven't checked it outyet, head over to patreoncom.
See all the extras you can getfor becoming a backer for just
$3 a month.
There's extra bonus episodeseach month and so much more.
To check out Patreoncom.
And, as I am blessed to doevery month, I want to give a

(58:34):
big shout out of thanks to ourPatreon cove curators Angelica
Balschweiler, ana Ginovola,charity Swanson, emily Thatcher,
gina Dobbs, jamie Carganilla,josepha Snyder, kelsey Blaine
Gibson, krista King, meryl Milky, the Farons, susan Kuhn.
I appreciate you all so muchfor helping this show.
Continue to go and continue togrow.

(58:56):
Love.
You all.
Have a great week.
We'll see you next Tuesday.