Appease At Any Price?

England stood on the brink of disaster in 1938. Hitler's rise to power was unopposed in Germany, as was his aggressive rearmament of Germany, in blatant disregard of the Versailles treaty closing WWI, which limited German production of war materiel. Austria fell. Czechoslovakia lay in Hitler's sites. Neville Chamberlain went to Munich to negotiate with (As Churchill called him) "Herr Hitler." He returned, triumphant, with a piece of paper mutually signed, stating Germany and England would never go to war. A naive venture. Leadership calls for a willingness to stand for principle and to speak plainly about the issues. The stakes are high when principle is cast aside in the face of empty promises or in the face of throwing away all that is valuable and hard won. The following words from Mr. Churchill, given in the midst of those turbulent events, speak volumes, if we will listen.

  Winston Churchill addressed the House of Commons on 5 October 1938 with these sobering, prophetic words. The underlying principles are timeless though the names and dates change. He drew from the vast history of England to inform his remarks and appeal to the lessons of history:

     ...You have to consider the character of the Nazi movement and the rule which it implies. The Prime Minister (Chamberlain) desires to see cordial relations between this country and Germany. There is no difficulty at all in having cordial relations with the German people. Our hearts go out to them, Bu they have no power. You must have diplomatic and correct relations, but there can never be friendship between the British democracy and the Nazi Power, that Power which spurns Christian ethics, which cheers its onward course by a barbarous paganism, which vaunts the spirit of aggression and conquest, which derives its strength and perverted pleasure from persecution, and uses, as we have seen, with pitiless brutality the threat of murderous force. That Power cannot ever be the trusted friend of the British democracy. 
     What I find unendurable is the sense of our country falling into the power, into the orbit and influence of Nazi Germany, and of our existence becoming dependent upon their goodwill or pleasure. It is to prevent that that I have tried my best to urge the maintenance of every bulwark of defence - first the timely creation of an Air Force superior to anything within striking distance of our shores; secondly, the gathering together of a collective strength of many nations; and thirdly, the making of alliances and military conventions, all within the Covenant, in order to gather together forces at any rate to restrain the onward movement of this Power. It has all been in vain. Every position has been successfully undermined and abandoned on specious and plausible excuses. We do not want to be led upon the high road to becoming a satellite of the German Nazi system of European domination. In a very few months, we shall be confronted with demands with which we shall no doubt be invited to comply. These demands may affect the surrender of territory or the surrender of liberty, I forsee and foretell that the policy of submission will carry with it the restrictions upon the freedom of speech and debate in Parliment, on public platforms, and discussions in the press, for it will be said - indeed, I hear it said sometimes now - that we cannot allow the Nazi system of dictatorship to be criticised by ordinary, common English politicians, Then, with a Press under control, in part direct but more potently indirect, with every organ of public opinion doped and chloroformed into acquiescence we shall be conducted along further stages of our journey...(Never Give In! The Best of Winston Churchill's Speeches; Winston S. Churchill)

What do you think stands to be lost as you consider the political and international landscape?

Sunday Thought: "Strike, Lord"

     Perhaps trial presses on you today. I read one of the daily readings from Octavius Winslow's Morning Thoughts  (June 13) in which he quoted Martin Luther's words of determination in the face of trial. Luther faced relentless vertigo, ringing ears, and the constant harassment of his soul's enemy.

     Thomas Brooks (see Smooth Stones from Ancient Brooks; Charles Spurgeon) also quoted Luther's remarks on trial: "It was good for me to be afflicted!" (Psalm 119:71) God afflicts you, O Christian, in love! Therefore Luther cries out, 'Strike, Lord, strike, Lord! and spare not!' I believe the quote continues,"now my sins are gone; strike as hard as thou wilt if transgression be covered."

    His grasp of justification and forgiveness ran deeper than the pain of trial. How do you fare? I find this is the battleground - this and the pride Brooks refers to below. Are we willing to let Him strike? Do we see His striking, with forgiveness, can do us no harm but only good? Change my heart, O, Lord.


      Some further thoughts from Thomas Brooks, The Mute Christian Under the Smarting Rod: 

     Oh! labor every day to be more humble and more low and little in your own eyes. 'Who am I,' says the humble soul—'but that God should cross me in this mercy, and take away that mercy, and pass a sentence of death upon every mercy? I am not worthy of the least mercy, I deserve not a crumb of mercy, I have forfeited every mercy.' 

     Only by pride comes contention. It is only pride that puts men upon contending with God and men.  A humble soul will lie quiet at the foot of God, it will be contented with bare necessities. A dinner of green herbs relishes well with the humble man's palate; whereas a stalled ox is but a coarse dish to a proud man's stomach. A humble heart thinks none less than himself, nor none worse than himself. A humble heart looks upon small mercies as great
mercies; and great afflictions as small afflictions; and small afflictions as no afflictions; and therefore sits mute and quiet under all. Do but keep humble, and you will keep silent before the Lord.
     Pride kicks, and flings, and frets; but a humble man has still his hand upon his mouth. Everything on this side of hell is mercy—much mercy, rich mercy to a humble soul; and therefore he remains mute under the smarting rod. 

Golf Builds Character(s)

     For some reason, golf seems good for a Saturday. Maybe Saturday will be for sports stuff. Golf is a favorite, though my experience is well described by Rick O'Reilly, gifted sports writer. I started when I was young (12) for no particular reason. I did not have access to play but the idea of hitting a stationary ball seemed easier than hitting a moving ball - which I could not do, though tried hard.  So, golf stuck. It stuck even when I really stunk - I was deceived. It stuck when other equally bad friends started. This provided much humor which made the frustration easier to take. Perseverance proved profitable though, I hasten to add, I can completely lose all ability in a one day period. Why? I have no idea. So, first, a good working explanation of the pain golf inflicts on those who play; then thoughts from a man who is much more than the wit represented here - read more about him in vintage Sports Illustrated articles and his own page. (No offense to Mr. Rodriguez - he is still with us)


     Golf is the cruelest game, because eventually it will drag you out in front of the whole school, take your lunch money and slap you around.  ~Rick Reilly, "Master Strokes," Sports Illustrated

 Chi Chi's Matador Dance

“I'm getting so old, I don't even buy green bananas anymore.” Chi Chi Rodriguez

“When Lee and Jack win, it is good for golf. When I win, it is better.” Chi Chi Rodriguez

 "Sure, I'm making a lot of money now, but years ago the IRS would send me get-well cards." Chi Chi

 "I've heard people say putting is 50 percent technique and 50 percent mental. I really believe it is 50 percent technique and 90 percent positive thinking. See, but that adds up to 140 percent, which is why nobody is 100 percent sure how to putt."  Chi Chi

I'm playing like Tarzan - but scoring like Jane. Chi Chi

Do you play? 

 

Thanksgiving Thought

     We will one day see the Grand Design and the providential dealings of God in our lives. The man in our story, Elgin Staples, enjoyed the privilege of experiencing God's hand in a powerful way. Many of us face perplexity in variegated forms - let this be a reminder to each of us the be thankful this Thanksgiving for God's ceaseless and intensely personal care for us. The following is taken from The Grand Weaver: How God Shapes Us Through the Events of Our Lives by Ravi Zacharias:

     In the book Finding Your Way, Gary LaFerla tells an amazing story, gleaned from the records of the United States Naval Institute following the Second World War. The USS Astoria engaged the Japanese during the battle for Savo Island before any other ships from the U.S. naval fleet arrived. During the crucial night of the battle, August 8, the Astoria scored several direct hits on a Japanese vessel but was itself badly damaged and sank the next day. Here’s how LaFerla tells the rest of the story: 

The U.S.S. Astoria 

     About 0200 hours a young Midwesterner, Signalman 3rd Class Elgin Staples, was swept overboard by the blast when the Astoria’s number one eight-inch gun turret exploded. Wounded in both legs by shrapnel and semi-shock, he was kept afloat by a narrow lifebelt that he managed to activate with a simple trigger mechanism. 

     At around 0600 hours, Staples was rescued by a passing destroyer and returned to the Astoria, whose captain was attempting to save the cruiser by beaching her. The effort failed, and Staples, still wearing the same lifebelt, found himself back in the water. It was lunchtime. Picked up again, this time by the USS President Jackson (AP – 37), he was one of 500 survivors of the battle who were evacuated to Noumea. On board the transport, Staples hugging that lifebelt with gratitude, looked at that small piece of equipment for the first time. He scrutinized every stitch of the lifebelt that had served him so well. It had been manufactured by Firestone Tire and Rubber Company of Akron, Ohio, and bore a registration number. 

     Given home leave, Staples told his story and asked his mother, who worked for Firestone, about the purpose of the number on the belt. She replied that the company insisted on personal responsibility for the war effort, and that the number was unique and assigned to only one inspector. Staples remembered everything about the lifebelt, and quoted the number. There was a moment of stunned silence in the room and then his mother spoke: “That was my personal code that I affixed to every item I was responsible for approving." 

Sunday Thought

Charles Spurgeon tells the story of how George Whitefield, the great 18th century evangelist, was hounded by a group of detractors who called themselves the "Hell Fire Club". When Whitefield would

 

stand outside preaching, this little group of young men would stand off to one side and mimc him. They did not believe a word of it. The ring-leader was a man called Thorpe. One day, Thorpe was mimicking Whitefield to his cronies, delivering his sermon with brilliant accuracy, perfectly imitating his tone and facial expressions, when he himself was so pierced that he sat down and was converted on the spot.

Whitefield was a mighty preacher used of God on the Great Awakening. It is said his voice boomed enough to hold 20,000 people's attention in the open air. A story exists of a conversion three miles from where he was standing. Among other notables, Ben Franklin heard him preach and said he "had his pockets picked by Whitefield," though no record exits of a further response.

Reportedly, he could say the word "Mesopotamia" in such a way as to melt audiences and that word made its way into most sermons, regardless of topic. Before amplification, it is amazing God gave him the voice and body to project to such numbers and with such effect.

They Couldn't Hit an Elephant at This Dist...

I have often heard the tale of an assumption which cost a Civil War general dearly. Union General John Sedgwick's last words are widely reported as, "They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist..."

It may be inaccurate. Civil War Home reports the testimony of Martin McMahon, Chief of Staff, who was eyewitness to the sad end of a man widely loved by his men:

"I gave the necessary order to move the troops to the right, and as they rose to execute the movement the enemy opened a sprinkling fire, partly from sharp-shooters. As the bullets whistled by, some of the men dodged. The general said laughingly, " What! what! men, dodging this way for single bullets! What will you do when they open fire along the whole line? I am ashamed of you. They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance." A few seconds after, a man who had been separated from his regiment passed directly in front of the general, and at the same moment a sharp-shooter's bullet passed with a long shrill whistle very close, and the soldier, who was then just in front of the general, dodged to the ground. The general touched him gently with his foot, and said, " Why, my man, I am ashamed of you, dodging that way," and repeated the remark, " They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance." The man rose and saluted and said good-naturedly, " General, I dodged a shell once, and if I hadn't, it would have taken my head off. I believe in dodging." The general laughed and replied, "All right, my man; go to your place."
        For a third time the same shrill whistle, closing with a dull, heavy stroke, interrupted our talk; when, as I was about to resume, the general's face turned slowly to me, the blood spurting from his left cheek under the eye im a steady stream. He fell in my direction ; I was so close to him that my effort to support him failed, and I fell with him."

Thing are Not Always as They Appear

One can only imagine what it must have been for him to be on the sidelines watching. Possibly one of the finest American generals, and one who would yet make his most significant mark, watched the greatest invasion in history, not from the turret of a tank, but from England. His sole function was that of decoy.

Gen. George S. Patton wrote on 6 June 1944, "It is hell to be on the sidelines and see all the glory eluding me." 

Andrew Carroll edited a compilation letters, Extrordinary Correspondence from American Wars: WAR LETTERS (Scribner; 2001) including correspondence from Patton to his son at West Point on the day of the invasion. Carroll gives the background: "But as much as he hated it, Patton was as integral part of one of the most brilliantly orchestrated deceptions in military history: Operation Fortitude. As tens of thousands of Allied troops poured onto the beaches of Normandy, Adolf Hitler was certain it was a feint. The real invasion force, he insisted, would leave from Dover and strike at Pas-de-Calais. German reconnaissance had determined that an army of enormous size was mobilizing near Dover under the command of Patton, the Allied general the Germans most feared. In fact, there was no army. Hollywood set designers had helped the Allies construct dummy airfields, oil storage depots, and landing craft near Dover. Full-sized inflatable rubber tanks were lined up in massive rows. Fake messages were transmitted to simulate radio traffic, and double agents fed the Germans misleading information. Field Marshal Erwin Rommel pleaded with Hitler to release armored divisions from the Calais region after the Normandy landings, but Hitler refused, convinced the main assault was still to come. On D-Day itself, the commander of the fake army had virtually nothing to do. Crushed he was missing the "opening kick-off," a restless Patton whittled away the hours writing in his diary and sending off letters, including one to his son George, enrolled at West Point."

Here is a brief sample of that letter (as written) if you care to read further:
"At 0700 this morning the BBC announced that the German Radio had just come out with an announcement of the landing of Allied Paratroops and a large number of assault craft near shore.  So that is it.

This group of unconquerable heros whom I command are not yet in but we will be soon - I wish I was there now as it is a lovely sunny day for a battle and I am fed up with just sitting.

I have no immediate idea of being killed but one can never tell and none of us can live for ever so if I should go dont worry but set your self to do better than I have.

All men are timid on entering any fight whether it is the first fight or the last fight all of us are timid. Cowards are those who let their timidity get the better of their manhood. You will never do that because because of your blood lines... ...What success I have had results from the fact I have always been certain that my military reactions were correct. Many people do not agree with me; they are wrong. The unerring jury of history written long after both of us are dead will prove me correct."

Assumptions Have Consequences

Recently, we looked briefly at the mistakes made by Naval officers leading to tragic results for members of the crew of the U.S.S. Indianapolis on July 30, 1945 and the days following.

Torpedoed and sunk, the Indy's surviving crew floated alone in the Pacific with its daytime temperatures reaching 100 degrees. The merciless sun beat them with it's intense blazing as they floated about 12 degrees north of the equator. The sun presented perhaps the least of their problems.

Somewhere around 900 men survived the sinking from a crew of 1196, though various injuries and burns hindered many. The sea quickly divided the survivors as groups drifted apart to a general area of about 12 miles.  Trouble soon began.

"By dusk on Monday, hundreds of sharks had encircled them. There were makos, tigers, white tips, and blues. Rising at the speed of man at a gentle run, the sharks ascended from the depths of the dark sea to the paler glow of approaching night overhead, toward a sky empty of stars. As the heat of day tempered into relative cool, the boys, lying in their life vests, began to feel things bumping them from below - nudges and kicks that they mistook for the touch of their comrades treading water. They nodded off and slept, if their wounds allowed them to rest. They woke often, with a start, staring into the dark, wondering, Who's there?"   (In Harm's Way; p.161)

Sharks, with wakes mistaken for those of PT boats, attacked again and again. Despite the thrashing and best efforts of the men, the sharks attacked. The dorsal fins tore the flesh, already damaged by exposure, burns, salt. Limbs were torn. Men were dragged, screaming into the distance and then disappearing below the surface - gone forever. The death toll rose at a rate of 50 men per day by shark attacks, eventually claiming an estimated 200 men.

But surprisingly another killer worked silently among the terrified survivors. Yes, thirst dried the men out - even surrounded by an unfathomable deep - because the poisonous salt water would first drive mad and then kill. The water itself, however, was a very warm steady 85 degrees. The men would bake during the daytime and then night would descend. By comparison, the cold was brutal. Hypothermia set in fast.

Despite the global position, the water was still a full 10 degrees lower than the human body temperature and life drained slowly from the desperate men even as they fought sharks, exposure, wounds, the sun and their own mental constitution.

The consequences of commanders poorly advised or even foolish decisions often bring dire consequences for those under their commands. This is a powerful story and well written.

Assumptions

I had the book for a while before reading it. The subject was vaguely familiar - I knew of the incident - but none of the particulars. On the back cover, Stephen Ambrose was quoted as saying of this book - "The most frightening book I've ever read."  

What makes this the most frightening book Ambrose ever read? Why are history books at times frightening? They are not written as SUSPENSE books or HORROR books, per se. But isn't it true - real life provides the most sobering, uncomfortable stories? Why is that? Consider the people in the story. Their humanity is not vastly different than our own. Often, the stories take place in situations in which we hope never to find ourselves - yet should events unfold for us as they did the protagonists, we could be in their shoes. That is part of the catch. No one hopes to be caught up in events which are horrific or impossible or overwhelming or disastrous. However, such is the stuff of history.

What was the frightening work picked up by Mr. Ambrose? The story is of a tragedy which occurred late in the Pacific war - July 30, 1945 - just as the war was nearly over. The book, In Harm's Way, by Doug Stanton (Henry Holt and Company; 2001), tells the story of "the sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the extraordinary story of its survivors (from the front cover)."

Consider one of the frightening - and there are many - elements of this deeply disturbing tale. That of assumption.

Briefly, the USS Indianapolis was actually tasked to deliver Little Boy, one of the atomic weapons which would bring devastation to the Japanese homeland and usher in the end of the war as well as the dawn of the "nuclear age," to the island of Tinian and was on the return trip when it came under attack by the Japanese submarine, I-58. Two torpedoes carrying 1,210 pounds of explosives each slammed into Indy's hull and doomed the vessel and many men on it.

Certainly many ships were sunk during WWII with the loss of much life. What is it about this particular ship, the USS Indianapolis, which makes it such a compelling story? Certainly the number of men lost. The way in which they would perish. Captain Charles Butler McVay and his subsequent court martial. Many other elements. But let's consider the events which doomed the survivors (more than 580) - the assumptions made by those in the chain of command who received news of a distress signal from the Indianapolis and did nothing to save her crew. We can only surmise they assumed the call for help with corresponding coordinates must not have been legitimate. It may have been deemed illegitimate because the war was nearly over and the seas were assumed to be clear of Japanese naval activity including subs. Perhaps it was an aversion to negative reports. Perhaps it was a case of "If I didn't see it or hear of it - it cannot be true."  We don't know because these weren't investigated but consider these two accounts:

In a radio shack on the island of Leyte - 650 miles away - a sailor received word a message regarding the Indianapolis' having been torpedoed and quickly reported it to the sleeping Commodore Jacob Jacobsen. He asked for a reply. "No reply at this time," he said. "If any further messages are received, notify me at once." No effort was made to verify the report. Nothing was done. Why?

A message was received by an officer who responded by sending two fast Navy tugs from Leyte toward the site of the sinking. However, when Commodore Norman Gillette heard upon his return to the base that the tugs were dispatched without his authority, he recalled them though they had completed one-third of the journey by that time. No investigation was made.

A third record of the receipt of the Indianapolis' message is reported and it was forwarded "through channels."

I suggest one reason the story is frightening. We are all capable of making the same mistakes. Assuming something is not true - for any number of reasons (Dead Guys will explore other incidents from history illustrating this common flaw). Being angered that one's authority was not properly honored in a decision or anger at someone else's initiative...

These are common to man. It is frightening to realize that basic character flaws can cause catastrophe. It is frightening to think that those flaws are not unknown to me.

Something From Church History

Dead Guys will draw from the history of the Church on Sundays.

This week I read a blog in the Wall Street Journal with interest. The subject engaged by Gary Hamel in his"Management 2.0"  blog was "Organized Religion's Management Problem." I decided to comment, offering that the Church struggles when the message moves from the Gospel (the birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ) and the call for belief in this message to anything less. Sadly, the Church often wrestles with the desire to communicate in a relevant and meaningful way to the world and the pressure to water the message down to be relevant and meaningful.

Another reader was kind enough to respond to my post expressing this concern - my words are in quotes; his comment in parentheses: “The Gospel is the central truth of Christianity (I agree), and therefore the world (big jump)”, is the attitude that causes a non-religious spiritual person to reject Christianity. Basically, it is saying we are right and everybody else is wrong. That jump from The Gospel being a personal belief to a worldwide fact is very difficult not to make. How does one believe so strongly yet maintain the reality that it is just a belief and not necessarily The Truth for all. A challenge when Christianity says there is only one way."

The excellence of the Christian message exceeds it's uniqueness in the world. The power resident in the message itself produces fruit (Mark 4.26-29). One favorite illustration comes to mind from a favorite man. This is taken from Arnold Dallimore's SPURGEON: A NEW BIOGRAPHY (BANNER OF TRUTH; 1985; p.94):

Among other activities, he now addressed the largest gathering of his entire career. There had been a mutiny in India against Britain's rule over that land, and a service of national humiliation was planned. It was held in the Crystal Palace and was to be addressed by the one man with voice enough to reach the expected gigantic audience - C.H. Spurgeon. (The crowd was recorded as 23,654 - largest ever indoor congregation in history to that point)

The day before the service, he went to the Palace to weigh up the task he was facing. The building had not been planned with any thought of meetings, and in order to test the acoustics he repeated several times the Scripture, 'Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.' His words were heard by a man who was working somewhere in the building. That man came to him some days later to say the message of that verse had reached his heart, and he had come to know the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christians must remain confident in the power of God resident in His word - no matter how much external pressure exists to make it palateable to a generation.

Musically Strange but True... (for old guys...)

Jimi Hendrix toured with the Monkees. Someone did not do their homework on this one. Apparently Hendrix was having success in the UK with a couple of tunes and the money-seeking concert promoters thought - this could be a big breakthrough.  What were Jimi's hit tunes?

Well, first consider the Monkees were hitting it big in the U.S. with their contrived band and T.V. gig. Their hits? Try "Hey Hey We're the Monkees". Pretty groovy, huh? Check out "Day Dream Believer".

So what were the new hits from the Experience?  Check out "Hey Joe" where Jimi appears like he's experiencing the other hit - "Purple Haze".

A bit of a disconnect, eh?  I wonder if they jammed together at the end of the concert? Maybe Mike Nesmith and Jimi traded some licks or echoed solos on "All Along the Watchtower?"  Not so much.

Apparently they did about seven shows together.  Check out the radio spot for a Detroit show:Jimi Hendrix Experience and the Monkees tour together!

 A quick aside - when the Monkees were being formed, a famous guitarist in his own right auditioned. Stephen Stills actually tried out for the Monkees. How'd that work out for Stills?

Well, by virtue of work with both Buffalo Springfield and CSN(Y) - he's in the Rock+Roll Hall of Fame twice.

How Easy to Do Nothing... How Hard to Achieve Anything

Failure. Catastrophe. Disaster. Dismissal. Imagine these words heaped on you describing the final consequence of a decision largely yours, how could any notion of a future be anything but cruel?

Suppose you conceived a military plan which played out as described - in fact, one which became a scourge and "synonomous with fiasco and recklessness" because of the wanton loss of life and defeat. The result was disgrace and dismissal. Would your thoughts be any different than this character's - "I am finished." What if others echoed for years and years following, "He is finished." Could you forsee good coming from it - could you learn valuable lessons even in the face of ridicule? Could you determine to persevere in private and learn from it?

The early Mel Gibson film, Gallipoli, captures the futility and emptiness of the Dardanelles campaign of 1915. It is perhaps most hauntingly expressed by Eric Bogle's "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda".

How easy to do nothing if your resume read like this. How easy to throw in the towel, give up all hope, and stop using your God-given abilities.

Instead, Winston Churchill, who served then as First Lord of the Admiralty, used this experience as the schoolhouse to hone his understanding of leadership, determination, and, particularly, how to wage military campaigns effectively. "My one fatal mistake was trying to achieve a great enterprise without having the plenary authority which so easily could have carried it to success." When the call came for him to step forward and lead - more than 20 years later - he was ready. He took the reigns of the defense of the nation so he could press for decision when fear and indecision would typically gum the works of another form of leadership. "Every war decision must be forced to a clear-cut issue...the soldiers ordered to their deaths have a right to a plan as well as a cause."   Further, remarking upon the syle of leadership during the war, "Whatever course was decided upon, it was essential that we should now act decisively."  

This was the man, uniquely forged in the fire of experience, failure, examination, and perseverance, who could stand before the fearful and wavering little island nation, and urge, "Never give up. Never give up. Never give up."   He faced the mighty war machine of Adolph Hitler when all was stacked against him, and, by decisive leadership and resolute conviction, stared him down.

"We must learn from misfortune the means of future strength." 

For fun: "I have often had to eat my words, and I must confess I have always found it a wholesome diet."   

(Quotes from: Churchill on Leadership - Executive Success in the Face of Adversity; Stephen Hayward; FORUM; 1997)

We're On Fire!

Suppose you were on a cruise ship and it was a top of the line cruise. The gourmet food exquisitely prepared and presented on the finest bone china. The rich textures of the hardwoods lining the walls of the dining room warming and adding to a sense of opulence. The daily activities designed to help the passengers burn off some of the calories and offer unique activities - a signature of the line.

Would you be disturbed to know a fire was burning out of control in the engine room and threatening the saftety of the ship? Would you be more concerned if nothing was said to the passengers - no preparation was made for your safety?

Would it be good news when the fire was finally doused?  Maybe not.

This was the situation for those who sailed on the maiden voyage of the TITANIC.

A fire burned out of control in an engine room's coal supply and it appeared there was no way to stop it despite the vigorous efforts of the crew.  Ironic, isn't it, that the out of control, ship-threatening fire, was not to be at the top of the list of concerns for this voyage.

Sometimes we don't see things from the right perspective. Sometimes the problem is worse than we know!

Strange but true....

The construction of the Hoover Dam remains an engineering marvel well worth a look.

What do you make of this strange but true occurence - the first man to die on the project was J.G. Tierney a Bureau of Reclamation employee who was part of a geological survey and drowned when he fell from a barge on December 20, 1922.  He was part of a team trying to determine the best location for the placement of the dam.

The last man to die associated with the construction fell from an intake tower was killed exactly 13 years to the day later - December 20, 1935. His name? J.G. Tierney, son of the very first man to perish.

Why Dead Guys Talking?

We all know the adage from Edmund Burke (eminently quotable, like G.K. Chesterton) "Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it."

History speaks to us and teaches us - if we will listen. Who wants a boring timeline? Or memorizing dates? Unless you understand what the time line represents.

People lived lives just like us - under different conditions perhaps, but with the same nature and the same characteristic tendencies. They did heroic things, unimaginable things, horrific things, stupid things... just like people today.

Will we learn or follow the same course? History is full of lessons - many of them sobering.