October 4, 2010

And the Band Played On

By Geoffrey P. Hunt
The Titanic's band leader Wallace Hartley paid little heed to the North Atlantic saltwater bubbling up through the floor in the first class lounge. It took an extreme case of denial or uncommon nerve to keep the beat while fellow passengers stood horrified, slowly realizing that someone shorted the lifeboat count before leaving Southampton. Those few eyewitness accounts tell of an eerie, surreal detachment recounted here:Many people later commented on how strange it seemed to be wearing a lifejacket, awaiting orders to get into the lifeboats, whilst the band continued to play as though nothing had happened ... what went through their minds as they played together can only be guessed. As the slant of the decks increased more and more, did they even consider that this was their last hour alive, or did one or two of them hold out a slight hope that eventually one of the officers would amble over and instruct them into a lifeboat? Whatever their thoughts were, we will never know. All...(Read Full Article)