Titantic - April 1912 - Survival -

I have been falling into the trap of reading so many articles, and stories of Titantic survivals. I gives me cause to speculate how I would do in some chance it would happen again while I was onboard some ship.

If you were to survive another ship going down like the Titantic or some modern day ship awaiting disaster, what would you grab at the last minute in a hurry. I am not sure what possessions I might have with me in the year 1912. But in another ship facing disaster in the present day time slot; I can only hope I would be more organized in my few possesions than I am now and could find it that fast. One person went with her tooth brush and a prayer book. Another had a card on him from a game.

In this scenario I am sure I am traveling alone with no family members with me thus I only have myself to worry about and no baby thrust upon me as I climb into a rescue boat.

I do know of course that survival is utmost in my head, and I of course would be so scared. After all I would still have at home first my family and second all my unfinished work at home and no one there who would want to finish it, but me. If I were not to survive, I would only hope, I have all my scraps filed and recorded, blogged [ ahh hah]

I am sure in this imaginary scenario I am the perfect genealogist ready at any moment to add all the layers of clothing necessary with manuscripts that have to be saved wadded up in those clothing somehow. It surely would add as insulation and hopefully not a burdensome extra weight should I end up in the water. If modern day scenario, I am sure like many others we would be clutching our laptops in our small light weight travel bag that we threw it in next to our medication,money, credit card, comb and toothbrush and jewels.

If I had no means to save my papers, I would hope I had the foresight to put the few most important in an empty bottle and cork the thing, so that it would stay air tight and float and be preserved. Perhaps by this date all ship rooms come with containers that seal up air tight and float. Would I, Should I have put my papers in their vault?

I would be Hopeing of course that who ever were to find it had an appreciation of the importance of my or any ones family history. I can only wonder where a sealed bottle would end up in an sea of ice bergs. If it had to be destroyed my only hope is it would help someones fire as it was being destroyed and thus maybe saving ones life, which would be better than just dissolve into nothing. [ Which is what material in internet world can do too.]

I can only hope I don't have my laptop and my genealogy papers with me. If I did, I can only hope everything is backed up on my computer which is not yet done. I certainly hope that what ever material or information I had gained; that I would have taken every spare moment to file the information somehow before moving on with normal life. If everything is backed up as it should be to other sources off this precious laptop; should I even bother trying to save my laptop.

Then again, if I were to be left behind on that boat with a few hours left, I suppose I would sit somewhere and review my material. Maybe stuff a few messages and thoughts in some bottles. Or if moments of time to spare to use it to record a few more things of those nature, especially messages to my family on my hard drive. [ And say my prayers and give thanks for the life I have had.]

Due to the fact that my Seil grandmothers managed to successfully keep the name of Annie's father a secret all the way to their grave; I say this, that if I had any major genealogy secrets that I wish to keep to myself, I can only hope that I had made measures that no one else would ever find it or know it. I am not sure if the information would be coded into my computer with a code only I know, or if it would be necessary to have it written anywhere. Perhaps by this date, it would have been discarded and removed. If it is permanently on my hard drive, more than likely they would not care anyway to see what was on little old jo's hard drive. [But look at all the interest they have had in each person who was aboard the Titantic.]

What crosses my mind is that this ship riding may be from somewhere I had gained some valuable information, and that is what worries me. Did I take steps to record the new information where it could be retrieved elsewhere once I landed home, if I were to lose my computer on the way home. Would it be in paper form. If I were a worry wort over my work I manage to smuggle with me on that little boat, they just might throw me overboard, if I were a pain. And ohhh I do hope I shut up about my latest genealogy dig. Or I don't ask them their name and go into a head long tail spin about their surname and locations.
If the newspaper accounts say that Jo Meyer was sure a quiet person, you will certainly know why I had to keep quiet, lest I be tempted to babble on or ask too many questions.

I could just possibly have bored them at sometime on ship and then I get left behind..........They could say "ohhh gosh let's take someone else, all she does is talk about those ancestors of hers or what she found in Luneburg. I just couldn't listen to her for twenty four hours on this little boat"

Oh, I am sure I would be the perfect little old Genea Blogger genealogist calm, collected with just what I need as I board my lifeboat, welcomed by them into their boat, willing to row, and share and help the others, even take that baby as we make our way to survival. [And wouldn't it be wonderful if by chance some companion on that boat just happened to be just the relative I was hoping to discover.]



Psst!: If I and everyone else has a computer, what with email, twitter and instant message, we can send messages for help and we will all be saved anyway. Or I suppose that the ships are equipped to send out messages of the up most modern methods for our safety. With satellight pictures and waves and other means. But it was fun anyway, deciding how to survive all intact.