"The great fun in my life has been getting up every morning and rushing to the
typewriter because some new idea has hit me. The feeling I have every day is
very much the same as it was when I was twelve. In any event, here I am, eighty
years old, feeling no different, full of a great sense of joy, and glad for the
long life that has been allowed me. I have good plans for the next ten or twenty
years, and I hope you'll come along."
So sorry for the long hiatus, but I've spent the majority of the last few weeks dancing and trying on costumes and getting ready for a showcase I'm going to be in come June. I'll try to update as much as I possibly can, but until the showcase is over, I won't have much time.
A few weeks ago, my boss went out of town with her family, leaving myself and a few of my fellow employees to tend to the bookstore. Now normally, this wouldn't be a problem. I get there about 9:30 a.m. and turn on the lights; I start the coffee, I sign in, and open the blinds. Once the coffee finishes, I fix my usual cup and head back to the front counter to start the rest of my day. As soon as I sit down, I hear one of my coworkers say,
"There are the ladies."
Ladies?
It's Tuesday.
And suddenly it hits me.
The ladies from the knitting group that meet on Tuesdays at the bookstore. And as they enter the store, I think,
I made a pot of coffee, so there's not need to....
Followed quickly by,
"Oh Crap! It's Tuesday!"
I think one of my coworkers described said it was like someone had lit a fire under my ass; I was up and rushing back towards the coffee bar before the first lady made it back to the tables. Of course, they all heard me, and talked animatedly about my forgetfullness as other of their members slowly trickled into the store.
They went through the first pot of coffee like a landslide going through a valley. I sold at least twelve cups of coffee, and made $5.00 in tips that morning. Not to mention being the topic of lively conversation between the ladies for the next two hours.
I'm still the topic of conversation, even weeks after.
"I know this isn’t scientific, but this ship’s warning me she’s gonna die and take a lot of people with her." -Thomas Andrews, Managing Director of Harland and Wolff Shipyards, Titanic's builder
Most people remember the '97 film staring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet- star-crossed lovers Jack and Rose, who struggle in a fight for their lives on the maiden voyage of the 'unsinkable' White Star Line luxury liner Titanic. We all know the ending- Jack dies of hypothermia; Rose survives. But there's more to the story than what we saw in theaters.
Over 1500 people died when the ship sank in the middle of the Atlantic on April 15th, 1912 at 2:20 AM. The majority were third class passengers and crew members, and the majority of those- men. Over 600 survived, the majority women and children. Very little of the crew survived, and none of the animals on board.
The Titanic was quoted as being the "grandest luxury ship of her time." J. Bruce Ismay, the director of White Star Line, spent the majority of his time before the voyage making sure the world knew that the Titanic was "unsinkable." Unfortunately, Ismay would later be called responsible for causing over 1,000 deaths in the greatest maritime disaster to date.
The Grand Staircase
First and second class passengers stayed in luxury, enjoying private promanade decks and-at the time- the first Turkish bath to ever be on a liner. Perhaps the most well known part of the ship, however, is the Grand Staircase that lead down to the dining saloons on D-deck. Topped with a huge glass dome and situated on the landing- the clock situated between the figures of Honor and Glory Crowning Time- the staircase was most likely an absolutely beautiful piece of architecture.
The first few days of Titanic's maiden voyage went well enough. Nothing truly eventful happened until the night of April 14th. At 11:40 pm, Titanic struck the iceberg that Lookout Frederick Fleet had tried to warn Captain Smith and First Officer Murdoch about.
At first, passengers were told not to panic, but as the ship began to sink further and further into the ocean, panic began to set in. Of the over 1,800 people on board, only about 700 would survive in only 20 lifeboats. One of those lifeboats would capsize, allowing men to scramble aboard after the ship sinks.
The majority of the survivors would be women and children; the men that did survive were crew members who manned the boats and the few men who managed to climb into boats before they were being lowered. However, several prominent men went down the ship, including Captain Edward Smith, businessmen Benjamin Guggenheim and John Jacob Astor IV, and Titanic's builder Thomas Andrews.
Isidor and Ida Straus
One such man was Isidor Straus, the co-owner of Macy's Department Store. In one of the more touching and heartbreaking stories of the sinking ship, witnesses reportedly heard Ida Straus say, "I will not be separated from my husband. As we have lived, so will we die, together." when he and other men tried to persuade her to enter a lifeboat. They perished together.
Ruth Becker
Of the children to survive, two are perhaps the most well-known: seven-year-old Eva Hart and twelve-year-old Ruth Becker. Both girls survived the sinking; Eva lost her mother. Ruth, a passenger in Lifeboat 13, remembered being nearly crushed by Lifeboat 15 as both boats made their way down towards the water.
Eva Hart and he parents
Eva was perhaps the most outspoken of the Titanic survivors- speaking out against the salvage of the wreck, and the lack of lifeboats on the ship. Eva later said in an interview that "I saw it, I heard it, and nobody could possibly forget it.... the worst thing I can remember are the screams." Eva died on Valentine's Day, 1996. Ruth died six years earlier in July.
The lives that were lost on April 15th, 1912 at 2:20 am in the middle of the Atlantic 100 years ago are still remembered- in the Maritime Museums around the world, the novels, and the movies made about the sinking. Several victims that were not claimed reside in the Fairview Cemetery in Halifax, with the numbers they were ID'd with, and the dates of death- April 15, 1912. One such victim however, has been identified, though the name has not been added to the stone.
In 2007, DNA revealed that the remains of the Unknown Child belonged to one-and-a-half-year-old Sidney Goodwin, a third class passenger. It was confirmed in 2011. Sidney and his family perished in the sinking. The stone Sidney resides beneath is adorned with toys and ribbons left by visitors.
Despite the remains being identified, it was decided that the stone's epitaph would not change. It would remain the same, in honor of the children and victims who were unidentified and buried in the cemetery:
"Erected to the memory of an unknown child whose remains were recovered after the disaster to the Titanic, April 15, 1912."
The cemetery in Halifax is designed to look like the left side of a ship- mirroring the side of the Titanic that had been struck- the right.
The Titanic is a story that all can learn from, and that people do not forget. No matter how many years go by, the fact remains that hundreds and hundreds of lives were lost on the maiden voyage of a ship that should have been sailing the sea until she wasn't able to anymore. Instead, she rests on the bottom of the ocean, surrounded by those she took with her that long ago night in 1912.
May those that lost their lives that fated night rest in peace, and may we never forget the courage, sacrifice and heartbreak caused by such a tragedy.
Thomas Jefferson, the soft-spoken, introverted, redheaded congressman from the Virginia colony was perhaps- and surprisingly-the most tragic and radical of the founding fathers. Though tame by today's standards, Jefferson trusted not the government, the banks, and those countries wanting to wage war with the newly- formed United States.
The author of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson doubted himself in every aspect of Congressional and political life, from writing the declaration to being the Minister to France, to becoming Vice-President first under General Washington, and then under President Adams.
The young redhead not only authored the greatest document in American history, he also played the role of inventor and architect- from the portable copying press to his plantation home of Monticello. Using his portable copying press- two pens connected together by an aparratus of wood and wire, that created two copies of letters and speeches- Jefferson was able to make two copies of every letter he wrote, and keep one in case he lost a copy.
He also created the swivel chair, using two seats and rollers created from the pulleys from the sashes of the windows. But his greatest creation, by far, next to the Declaration, has to be his plantation, Monticello. Over forty years, from 1769 to 1809, Jefferson worked tirelessly on the house, having it built, torn down, redesigned, rebuilt, multiple times before it was finally completed. Never fully satisfied with aspects of the house (the porticoes particularly plagued him), Jefferson kept redesigning the beautiful house, even after he became president in 1800.
Monticello Reflected
Jefferson was said to fear speaking in public, and therefore claimed that, "I have no gift for oratory." He was by far the quietest and most shy of the Continental Congressmen, saying nothing during the meetings of the Congress; preferring to stay in the back and listen. He did not voice his opinions during the meetings of the Congress, and very much kept to himself.
Thomas Jefferson lost both his wife, Martha, and one of his daughters, Lucy Elizabeth, just months apart- Lucy Elizabeth, in 1781; Martha, the following year in the fall of 1782. Not long after, Jefferson was appointed to France as minister. Two years later, in 1784, he lost another daughter. So distraught over the loss of his wife, Thomas never remarried. Their fairytale had finally ended.
Normally a loner, Thomas Jefferson developed a close friendship with John and Abigail Adams of Massachusetts. When the two men worked as Ministers to Europe, they met up in Paris along with Abigail, and Thomas's two daughters. They watched France make its way to the overthrow of the monarchy, and after Adams went to London, Jefferson followed, where the two men took in time to see the gardens of London.
Their friendship seemed to fray not long after Adams took office in 1797. Facing war with France, Jefferson worked tirelessly against Alexander Hamilton and the others in Adams's cabinet. The violent upheavel France had gone through years prior, was something Jefferson wanted desperately to prevent. The States had fought one war, and could not afford another.
They finally came to blows in the Revolution of 1800- the first and only time that a Vice-President has run against the current in-office President and won. In two very bitter campaigns that reeked of today's political campaign standards, the parties went at each others' throats, in attempts to sway the public.
Eventually, it came down to the outgoing House members to chose the president. In a 10 to 4 vote, Jefferson won the presidency. Adams, having lost the presidency, and having his name raked through the mud during the campaign- including being labeled a monarchist, returned to Braintree, and broke off all contact with Jefferson.
Meanwhile, Thomas Jefferson served two terms as president, purchased French Louisiana and allowed Lewis and Clark to start their exploration. When he retired from the presidency in 1809, Jefferson returned to Monticello, $10,000 in debt, with no way to pay it.
The famous Adams - Jefferson correspondence began in 1812, at the urging of Dr. Rush, a close friend of both Adams's and Jefferson. Jefferson wrote back quickly, upon being told by Rush, who had visited Adams, that Adams had said, "I always loved Jefferson, and still love him." The former Virginian Congressman hurriedly sent a letter back to Adams, telling Rush,
"This is enough for me. I only needed this knowledge to revive towards him all of the affections of the most cordial moments of our lives." For the next 15 years, the two former presidents wrote back and forth to one another, comparing the number of grandchildren they each had, the politics of the day, and those of their generation (that had served the Congress) still living. When Abigail died in October 1818, Adams wrote to Jefferson, informing him of her untimely death.
Jefferson, who had lost his wife 36 years earlier, wrote back, ".... that it is of some comfort to us both, that the term is not very distant, at which we are to.... ascend.... to an ecstatic meeting with the friends we have loved and lost, and whom we shall still love and never lose again. God bless you and support you under your heavy affliction."
Thomas Jefferson's Signature
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams corresponded up until their deaths. On July 4, 1826- the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence- Jefferson passed away at Monticello, surrounded by his family. John Adams died the same day, hours later. Jefferson was 83.
1st Person Narrative (From Answers.com): a narrative or mode of storytelling in which the narrator appears as the ‘I’ recollecting his or her own part in the events related, either as a witness of the action or as an important participant in it. The term is most often used of novels such as Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre (1847), in which the narrator is also the central character. The term does not mean that the narrator speaks only in the first person, of course: in discussions of other characters, the third person will be used.
You learn the differences between 1st, 2nd and 3rd person in middle school. I, me, and we are first, therefore seeing things through the eyes of the writer. You and your, second, and is rarely used to write novels. He, she and them- 3rd- is through the eyes of an outside observer.
I write the majority of my novels in 3rd person. My strongest writing voice is in 3rd person; my attention to detail and description is as strong as my voice. So when I try writing anything in 1st person, well, it's a flat out pain in my ass.
I grew up reading the classics- Jane Eyre, The Secret Garden, Anne of Green Gables,Little Women- the majority or which are written in 3rd person. When I first started writing, I thought that I could write something like that. I quickly found that 3rd person was the easiest to write.
In order to be able to master writing in 1st person, I've given myself a list of exercises to do to help my writing skills. They're basically fan fiction, but I write only in 1st person; using a scene from a movie/ TV series/book, I try my hardest to get into character's head.
I've included the scene I worked on in a seperate page, with a little excerpt below. The scene is the Delcaration of Independence scene in John Adams, when Franklin and Adams are critiquing the draft of the famous document. I try to get into Jefferson's head, and draw out what he was possibly thinking that day. I hope I've captured even a little of the 1st person writing in this piece.
From 'Well, It's What I Believe':
The smooth material of my coat is soft beneath my chin, and I listen, internally cringing with every word. Did I really, truly write that? What was I thinking?
"Yes, see, you... you lay the evils of slavery at the... the feet of the king, but you say nothing of slavery itself, sir." Dr. Franklin says, pointing out the phrase in the paper in John's hand. I cringe, hearing the negativity in his voice, and reach down, pulling gently at the long underwear exposed beneath my knickers- a nervous habit I've had since childhood. He doesn't like it. "Now surely, if the trade is outlawed, but ownership is not, then those unfortunate Negroes still in servitude will become a more... ah, lucrative commodity."
He clears his throat, as though displeased. At me. Don't just sit there, say something!
"Well, that's not what I intended, Dr. Franklin." Go on, say it. They'll find out what you think eventually, just tell them now! "Slavery is an abomination and must be loudly proclaimed as such. But I own that neither I, nor any man has any yet immediate solution to the problem." There, I said it, it's out in the open. I abhor slavery, yet I myself have slaves. I'm a hypocrite. A hypocrite, a hypocrite, a hypocrite. Tar and feather me, and ride me out of town on a rail. I deserve it. It's only by sheer force of will that I keep eye contact with him.
"Oh, well... ti... tis no matter. The issue before us is independence and not emancipation." THAT'S IT? That'sallyou're going to say? 'Tis no matter? TIS NO MATTER?!
Sorry for the short post, but it's two in the morning, and unfortunately I need to go to bed. :( Anyway, that's besides the point of the post.
Someone asked me once how I'm able to start and finish a story or a novel. I told them it was simple.
I focus.
A lot easier said than done.
But the fact that I've been writing since I was old enough to pick up a pencil and understand what the word 'story' meant helps. Although my Civil War novel took a lot longer and was a lot harder to write thanks to the four months of writer's block I suffered. I lived on coffee and chocolate, trying to write something that even sounded remotely.... good.
No such luck.
And then I took in a little snippet of something I'd written in the middle of the night to my writer's group, and it turned out that, hey, they liked it. I wasn't so certain so I went back and reworked the snippet into a chapter, and brought it back the next week. With the exception of one member- who shall remain nameless, because I'll get teasing for the rest of our meetings if he ever finds out- I got mostly positive feedback.
I figured that maybe, just maybe, I could turn this into a novel. Now if I could just focus on my other novels.....
I have to confess this now; ever since seeing John Adams in my U.S. History class three years ago, Jefferson is moving up on my list of favorite presidents from eight to three. He's moved FDR from three down to four, and he's right behind Kennedy, who's two. And he's moved up for one simple reason:
Stephen Dillane's portrayal of Jefferson is amazing- and by amazing, I mean amazingly hot. Yes, I'm the giddy schoolgirl- I watched episodes of JA all the way through, and I just love how he portrays him. Dillane portrays Jefferson as this.... this introverted, brooding, intelligent, soft-spoken, eloquently forward-thinking, nonchalant in some cases, and even radical inventor, writer and Congressman. I've seen men portray Jefferson as Chautauquans, and they portray him as egotistical and extroverted with little thinking as to what he says. And that's not how Jefferson was at all.
Dillane gives Jefferson an almost.... relaxed air in his portrayal. As he discusses his reasons for the phrases he uses in the Declaration, he seems almost disintersted in the work and more in the opinions of Franklin and Adams about said document. It seems to be at this point, that his true introverted personality comes out. He has no true confidence in himself as an orater, nor as a writer of such a document. No surprise, since like Washington- who did not want the presidency- after him, he did not want to write the Declaration.
His relaxed "Well, it's what I believe." shows that he obviously gave great thought and time to the Declaration, has heard the opinions of Franklin and Adams, and accepts it with reserved thought. He gives the same manner of speech when he mentions that "Slavery is an abomination and must be loudly proclaimed as such. And I own that neither I nor any man has any yet immediate solution to the problem."
Of course, Jefferson couldn't have known that eighty-nine years after, Abraham Lincoln would be the man that has the "immediate solution to the problem." If only he had lived long enough to see Lincoln sign the Emancipation Proclamation.
Dillane gives Jefferson an almost soft approach to everything in this performance. He shows the soft-spoken, intelligent writer of the Declaration as a man who was so forward-thinking, that he almost seemed to predict the future. Case in point: In one episode, Jefferson foreshadows against civil war.
Nearly eighty-five years later, the United States would indeed splinter apart and break into civil war. A war in which the South would lose. Dillane shows the conflicts with which Jefferson struggled through his soft-spoken speech and- often intense- brooding when others are around.
It is a rarity to see a smile grace the Virginian's lips in this series, and with such conflicts- from writing the Declaration to being Vice-President, to becoming President- I doubt you yourself would want to smile. The most we get from Jefferson is a quick, fleeting little half-smile or the even rarer smirk.
Plus, in Unite or Die, Jefferson looks absolutely hot reclining against the divan after he's discussed his time in Paris. But what gets me is the dimple when he smiles.
It is a rarity to see a smile grace the Virginian's lips in this series, and with such conflicts- from writing the Declaration to being Vice-President, to becoming President- I doubt you yourself would want to smile. The most we get from Jefferson is a quick, fleeting little half-smile or the even rarer smirk. 