OK, I will have to stipulate that I don’t believe I ever gave any thought to whether I would ride to the depths of the ocean in a submersible vehicle.
Then came the tragedy that took the lives of five men this week as they sought to take an up-close look at the wreckage of the RMS Titanic cruise ship that sank in 1912 and is resting 13,000 feet below the ocean’s surface.
For almost my entire life I have maintained a fairly fearless attitude about what I would do … or wouldn’t do. I am 73 years of age and I am taking a much more cautious outlook on those things I never would do. Riding to the floor of the ocean in a submersible is very near the top of the won’t-do list.
The Titan vehicle reportedly imploded shortly after launching toward the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. The men on board died instantly, as the Coast Guard and the Navy have indicated.
Just because I have become a scaredy-cat who won’t do certain things doesn’t mean I disparage the fearless among us who are willing to take those risks. It’s part of being a human being, many of them have said in the hours since the revelation that the Titan had been destroyed in a “catastrophic implosion.”
Human beings are wired to explore, to test their limits, to reach perhaps beyond their grasp … or so the thoughts go. I am going to sigh and respond only with this: Not all human beings are hardwired in this manner; I know … because I am one of those who cannot do what those five brave men were able to do.
My heart breaks for the loved one who are mourning their unbelievable loss.