"Bottoms up"

Ever since I was young, I have had a fascination with the Titanic... It had all the right stuff for a thriller, yet was not fiction. It had wealthy people and working class people. It was the ship that "even God could not sink." And all of the "perfect storm" events leading up to it's sinking made it a huge nightmare. In my wildest dreams I cannot IMAGINE what it would have been like to be in the middle of nowhere, freezing cold, dark, and sinking.

I grew up around boats - boats of all sizes. My parents loved the water and we were involved in water activities every weekend of my life before college. When I was young, we had smaller boats on lakes, and then graduated to larger and larger boats on the Gulf of Mexico. I have a huge respect for the ocean, and with that, some fear. Because fear is usually associated with respect. There were a few times that we saw accidents, some almost dying and some that actually did die in boating accidents. It's part of living your life at full throttle.

So the other night, right before I went to bed, I checked my phone for the latest news. When I saw the huge cruise ship in Italy listing like it was, I told DD that it was a big deal. Just looking at that enormous ship listing so far on it's side after a very short while, meant that bad things were coming - fast. It's amazing that in 2012, a ship could hit a rock and list that fast, and sink that fast... with all of the electronics that are available? Some inept idiot captain showboats an island, then hits a big rock and the ships tilts immediately and the lights go out? Wow. And no one is even talking about the cost, because this ship costs around a half a BILLION dollars. Not to mention the lawsuits that will now ensue... I don't think I will ever take a cruise on those huge ships.

Ever...