Being born and raised in Michigan, it is practically a requirement to know not only the story of the Edmund Fitzgerald but the song The Wreck of the EBeing born and raised in Michigan, it is practically a requirement to know not only the story of the Edmund Fitzgerald but the song The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot. You have to be able to sing at least one full verse or they raise your property taxes. Kidding. Maybe. I just learned today that Lightfoot passed away at the 84 and have had the song stuck in my head all day. Because it rules and you should put it on right now and listen to every last verse. You are welcome. Anyways, this book by Kathy-jo Wargin is rather lovely and Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen’s artwork is stunning, featuring the ship—the largest sailing the Great Lakes in its time and the largest to have sunk there—in all its glory and depicting the wicked storm that took it down on November 10, 1975. While aimed at younger readers, it is just a joy to look at and tells you the right amount of details about the famous wreck.
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It’s a story that has become a big part of Michigan history. The captain would blast music from the ship when it would pass close to land and people would flock to see it pass. When it sank, all 29 of the crew went down with the ship and their bodies have never been recovered. The ship sent out no distress signal and the actual sinking is still a mystery to this day. Which are all very sad but mysterious details that have made it such a legend and nautical folk hero. This is a great little book. Now listen to the song!...more
When you stop and think about it, much of classic literature is about how getting on a boat is a bad idea. This book is a litany on why boating is a bWhen you stop and think about it, much of classic literature is about how getting on a boat is a bad idea. This book is a litany on why boating is a bad idea. You can say it at least worked out for Odysseus but did it? Did it really? If that dude isn’t haunted by the screams of his crew forever it’s just because the horrors of having been on a boat are overriding it. The whole war could have been avoided if Helen had just stayed off one boat. So if you ever find yourself as a character in a novel (you’ll know by the sweet smell of freshly printed pages on the breeze) I beg you DO NOT GET ON A BOAT. You won’t get that ‘one fine day…’ on a boat Gatsby is hoping for in the famous line about the futility of boats (among other things). Look at Moby Dick—bet the crew of the Pequad were all wishing they stayed on land right before the whale drowned all their asses. You know what isn’t trying to drown you? Land. Ahab might have been a cool baker or candlestick maker but boats led him astray. More like Moby DEAD amirite?
The danger of literary boats is real, my friends, Poe’s only novel was about just that. Heart of Darkness? More like Boats are the Heart of the Problem. Look what happened to that old man in the sea, almost starved! And theres The Open Boat by Stephen Crane to remind you the sea is more of an open grave. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was like but what if we go UNDER the water surely that’ll work out great? Wrong. Jim Hawkins and Robinson Curuso could have avoided all sorts of trouble if they stayed off boats. That movie with Jeff Bridges and his school boat was all fun and games until Ryan Phillippe ended up super dead. And watch out for Theseus’ ship, we don’t know if it even counts as the same ship! Boats are tricky like that. Ask the orcas, they know what’s up.
Now in sci fi, spaceships are basically just space boats. And look what happened to Paul Atreides when he took that space boat to Arrakis: literally fucking space genocide. Nobody wants that. Hell, the Death Star is just a really really big genocide boat and that ended poorly for everyone. 2001 A Space Odyssey has a space boat out for murder and blaming the crew.
So watch out for boats, ye land lubbers. Leave the pirating to me....more
s.penkevich
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