In 1915, at 2:12 pm, the unthinkable happened to a member of my family. The ship on which he was sailing was hit by a German torpedo. Family lore says he was having a late lunch with the captain when he went back to his cabin to get some documents. Lore also said that he was shocked to find that the doors and portholes on one side of the external rooms were all open. In his mind, he knew what that meant. An inside job. A torpedo on that side. A listing ship. A speedy sinking of the ship.
Again, as the story goes, he was a man of tremendous courage. He had been warned by German authorities, not to travel on the Lusitania, warnings he had ignored. They say he ran to the Captain’s Mess to alert him and then ran to the deck where he climbed up the slanting floor to the high side of the quickly listing ship and grabbed the railing. One at a time, he grabbed people and tossed them over the side to slide down the high side of the ship and into the water where lifeboats (only from that high side) had been waiting, the ropes of which he had cut. He is mentioned in some history books and was often spoken of by my mother, whose affiliation with family truth was loose, to say the least, but creative.
At 2:22 pm the Lusitania sunk, killing 1,998 people. It was a tragedy and this image of Francis’ watch shows the time when he finally flung himself into the water and swam, 6 minutes before the ship would sink and suck down area swimmers with it.
What I find interesting is, of course, his heroism, if the story is to be believed. Now that I see the watch, I do believe it. The watch, this one seen pictured here -this humble, steel artifact, tells at least the story of his plunge into icy waters. Mom said it was gold so…
We do not know if he saved hundreds of lives but I choose to believe good things of people until I am proven wrong. I also believe bad things said of bad people until I am proven wrong since I know for a fact that some are bad – evil politicians, evil bishops, evil clergy, and evil janitors, and evil makers of beer. Some percentage of people (many say about 14%, are assholes.)
More interesting is that this German choice was a pivotal moment in history in which American sentiment shifted against Germany and so, drew America into the war, as so too, helped win the war. As Ryan Holiday would say from the stoics – sometimes the obstacle is the way. When some horrible things happen, we must imagine that the result could lead even to better things. Take my leaving the church, for example.
It takes courage to name evil out loud. It takes courage to fight evil with lifeboats and with acts of Congress. It takes courage to name what we see when what we see is evil. We will be vilified for it. We will be canceled for it. We will even be ignored when we do it. But do it we must.
When Germany warned the US of the planned attack on the Lusitania it was in public! The German Government placed their full-page ad in the Washington Post next to the full-page ad for the Lusitania trip!
This family story, correct or embellished, reminds me that I must live my life by way of courage and I must make my work that of saving lives. And I do. And it does. I raise money so that the agency can rescue people whose lives are at risk even if only on these small islands. It’s humble work. It was my lifeboat from a sinking church. What are you doing to save lives? What evil are you not naming? There is no sense in pretending evil does not exist. There is only sense in saying, it does exist, and to what, this one day, shall I apply my gifts, such that I participate in goodness?
Did Christmas happen the way they say it did? I am no longer sure. But I am sure that goodness exists. and as the solstice brings light on Tuesday, I am confident in light and in goodness, and for me, that is enough.
