Titanic

Did you know that Cole is obsessed with the Titanic?


He was barely 3 when he first heard about it. We have a little electronic keyboard that plays hundreds of preset melodies. The idea is that you are supposed to learn how to play along with these programmed pieces. The first song that always plays is, you guessed it, My Heart Will Go On, without any words of course, just that sad, simple melody. Cole was immediately hooked. He and Wayne wanted to know why it was such a sad sounding song. I told them it was a song from a movie about a huge ship that hit an iceberg and sank in the middle of the ocean, and that it was so sad because many, many people died. I pulled out my CD of the Titanic soundtrack and the rest is history.

Now Cole is an expert. He knows the name of the captain and many of the officers. He knows where and how it was built. He can tell you the names of some of the important passengers. He understands all about the coal fed engines, the double hull, the water tight compartment doors, the failure of the bulkheads. He knows the name of the ship that was within sight when Titanic hit the ice but did not respond to distress calls and the terrible mathematics of the lifeboats. He knows the rescue ship, Carpathia. He knows all about exploring the wreckage with little submarines and underwater remote control cameras.

It's all Titanic all the time around here. Our trips to and from school are frought with danger because we are not in the van driving down Rt. 16. We're on the Titanic in the icy waters of the North Atlantic. There's an iceberg around every curve in the road. Cole doen'st just sit in a car seat. He's way up in the look out. "ICEBERG! RIGHT AHEAD!" I try to turn the ship, but we always hit.

When Wes gets home from work,he's always immediately accosted by Cole wanting to role play Titanic and by Wayne who wants to play Batman. Some how Wes has managed to combine the two games. When the Titanic sinks, Batman comes to the rescue and helps passengers into the lifeboats. They take a lot of creative liscence here, but certain basic facts cannot be changed: the ship always hits the iceberg; there are never enough boats; the first funnel always falls; Titanic breaks in half; and over half the the passengers die. Even Batman cannot save the Titanic from its fate.

I never thought this Titanic phase would last so long, but then, it is a fascinating story. Two years later, it's still going strong. Here is Cole with some playdough. Can you guess what he made? I know it looks like a stegasaurus, but it's really the Titanic, of course.

And outside, forget about a snowman. We made a snow Titanic.
Right now, in the 40 degree weather, it seems to be sinking...