I have become sort of a Titanic buff. I use that term “buff” because it sounds so much better than junkie or freak. Some might say obsessed. Call it what you will; I have big shoulders. 🙂

I’ve just recently finished reading two fantastic books written by Daniel Allen Butler. One is called Unsinkable and the other is called The Other Side of the Night: The Carpathia, the Californian, and the Night the Titanic was Lost. Yeah, that is a long book title. 🙂

The first book was about the Titanic. The second, while it had Titanic as a backdrop, was focused on the two other ships which played a vital role the evening of April 14, 1912. It is true Titanic was considered unsinkable. Rumor had it said, “Not even God could sink that ship.” That particular saying has never been substantiated, but the feeling of its unsinkability was real and even expressed by several. But it is also fact that when Titanic floundered and was on its way to becoming the biggest maritime disaster in history, two other ships were also in the drama.

The Carpathia was over 58 miles and approximately 4-6 hours away when it received word of Titanic hitting the iceberg. Captain Alan Rostron went into high gear and pulled out all the stops to get to Titanic as quickly as possible. The story is fascinating how he “begged” speed out of the Carpathia.

The Californian on the other hand, was about 5-10 miles away. She saw the flares. She saw the stars which burst from those flares. They saw the lights of Titanic. But Captain Stanley Lord did nothing. In fact, he slept while Titanic sunk. The Californian, its captain and crew had the chance to make headlines, but due to the attitude of Captain Lord (who bullied his crew), they did nothing.

Both are well-researched books and worthy of reading, especially if you are interested in Titanic. I actually found “Night” for $3 at a discount book store in our area. Both are available from Amazon. You can click on the link for more info.

But Mr. Butler summed it up well when he talked about the passion of the two captains. The difference fueled their response to the disaster, as well as how they acted toward their crew and at the inquiry. It also determined their future.

Our attitude will determine our passion as well. For our job. Our family. Our church. Our Lord. The lost. A lot rides on that when you really think about it. How is yours? Where is it focused?