100 Years

The first time Mr. Wonderful and I left The Boy for more than a few hours was when he was about 15 months old. The Boy spent a week with his grandmother, being spoiled, while Mr. Wonderful and I spent a week in London.


While I fretted and worried and called to check on him every day, we also had a wonderful time. We slept until our bodies woke us up and we talked and ate without interruptions. We visited museums and The Tower and Westminster Abbey. It was the end of September and the weather was beautiful. One day we took a boat ride down the Thames to Greenwich. Mr. Wonderful wanted to visit the Prime Meridian and the National Maritime Museum.

When we arrived at the National Maritime Museum we found that an exhibit, which we thought we had missed, had been held over until October 1st. It was the Titanic Exhibit. This was September of 1995 - before James Cameron's movie came out and before the Titanic Exhibit went on tour around the world. This was the first time the artifacts from the doomed ship had been seen by the public.


We didn't really know what to expect when we walked in. Apparently, not many people were aware that the exhibit was still being shown because there weren't a lot of people in line. When we walked in, there was some chatter but as we walked through the exhibit the chatter died down. It became silent and solemn.


There were photographs of the ship and it's interior. There were copies of newspapers heralding the grandeur of the ship and it "unsinkable" qualities. There were copies of boarding passes and dinner menus...

And then there were the artifacts themselves. Often, behind the artifact would be photos of where they were found in situ.

Deck chairs found floating in the ocean after the disaster...

Cork filled life preservers...

A man's hat...

A child's pair of shoes...

A container of toothpaste...

Money...

A White Star button...

A man's pair of gloves...

A pocket watch...

A suitcase...

Spectacles...

A bottle of champagne...

a ladies gold mesh purse...

Tie pins...

A pair of men's shoes with the laces still intact...

Perfume...

Dishes with the White Star Line logo...

Jewelry...

The sheer randomness of the artifacts was amazing. There were photographs of rows and rows of perfectly preserved bottles of wine and dishes. 

The glimpse of mundane, everyday objects such as combs and toothpaste was almost more overpowering than the many, many photos of passengers - most of whom did not survive. 

Yesterday marked the 100th anniversary of the sinking of Titanic. 

As I remember walking through that exhibit with Mr Wonderful, silently viewing the artifacts, I am once again overcome by the enormity of it all. Those seemingly ordinary items that make the names and faces of those who died that evening 100 years ago into real people. People who packed their bags, wore jewelry, combed their hair, tied their shoes, and brushed their teeth. People who worried and dreamed. And people - real people - who died.