Titanic Ghosts

[Ryan McKeefery]

Robert...
Where did you find that Fireapple Red & Ivory '58 Fury?

'Tis my dream car. Is it in working order? More to the point, is it for sale?

I have been under Christine's spell since I was about eight. I need that car!!

As for your story...
I would agree that it qualifies as the worst ever written - or published, should I say.
I'm sure there have been many worse stories written that any respectable publisher wouldn't touch with an 18ft barge-pole.

 

[Jim Kalafus]

Robert- next time you do the Route 66 drive, Westbound, as you pass through Shamrock TX turn left on 83 and head sounth about 15 miles for a real "off the beaten track" historical oddity. Between Lutie and Wellington you will find a 1930s iron bridge, on the south side of which is a collapsing farmhouse. Back in the 1930s, Bonnie and Clyde, travelling at high speed en route to Erick Oklahoma, came over the crest of the hill only to discover that the old bridge had been removed and the new one not yet built. End result was that the car ended up upside down on the river bed, on fire with Bonnie pinned underneath it. The occupants of the farmhouse came to help and instead ended up in a hostage situation which culminated in one of the farm women being non-fatally shot through a door, and two members of the Wellington Police Department abducted, later to be freed in East Texas. The site is almost "just as it was" in 1933, except for the collapsing house and the historical marker which manages to cram about 50 errors into 20 lines of text

There are a few souveniers of the Barrow Affair in private hands in Collingsworth County including the bullet scarred door through which 'the lady of the house' was shot. Worth a look, and a nice spot to picnic. Another 90 miles south into the outback and you'll find Turkey.

BTW: Your story was far from the worst ever written. If bad is what you were striving for

study a copy of Her Name Titanic for a while and then try again!

 

[Robert T. Paige]

Ryan-

Were you perhaps referring to the red and white '57 Chevrolet hardtop in the Route 66 Museum photos ? I feel relatively certain it's not for sale ?

I'd have to jog my memory and do some more checking of my own photos on the website but I
don't recall a '58 Fury. Maybe it's there...somewhere...I'll recheck.

As for striving for the worst Titanic story...it wasn't really planned that way...it just came naturally.

>>I'm sure there have been many worse stories written that any respectable publisher wouldn't touch with an 18ft barge-pole.<<
"Keep away ! You'll swamp us !"

Jim-

Thanks for the tip. I've been down 83 south of Shamrock but had never heard the Bonnie and Clyde story before, so I'll have to make a mental note for the next trip. BTW, there is another Bonnie and Clyde story in the neighborhood of present day Airport Freeway and Esters Road, which is just about a mile south of where I live in Irving.

 

[Jim Kalafus]

>BTW, there is another Bonnie and Clyde story in the neighborhood of present day Airport Freeway and Esters Road, which is just about a mile south of where I live in Irving.

Ah yes, the shooting of the motorcycle officer. The site of the shooting and the site of the marker are not one and the same. A while back the owner of the garage in Joplin Missouri where they had the shootout with the police ( marked the beginning of the end for them) was willing to sell it to anyone with the ability to take it away- designed in the Model T Era, it was too narrow for contemporary cars and (I suspect) a magnet for the morbidly obsessed. Dont know if he managed to unload it or not. BTW- Blanche Barrow, the only survivor of the gang, survived until relatively recently.

 

[Jim Kalafus]

>I have been under Christine's spell since I was about eight. I need that car!!

Do yourself a favor and AVOID! The 1957 and '58 Chrysler products were, and are, as annoying to own as they are interesting to look at. Their shoddy quality became legendary, and the Plymouths in particular rusted out with dismaying speed. Christine had the ability to repair herself, but the incredibly scarcity nowadays of a car which sold 780,000 units when new attests to the sad fact that the Forward Look MOPAR dream cars of 1957 and '58 induced (and still induce unless you have a fortune to invest in them)nightmares beyond anything Christine could hope to inflict. (in particular the door windows- they never really got the 'seal' right and, when new, indoor rain showers became a Plymouth trademark. So too did the smell of must as the perpetually damp interiors began to age.)

 

[Jim Kalafus]

Robert: Here is a link to the Wellington Bridge accident.

http://texashideout.tripod.com/clipping.html

 

[Ryan McKeefery]

"So too did the smell of must as the perpetually damp interiors began to age."

Is this what King is referring to when he constantly mentions 'The musty, death-like stench', or something along those lines?

I just want the Plymouth as a showpiece, really; something to keep in the garage and to show off with all the other classic cars at my town's annual Gala. And to hear the engine purr.

 

[Jim Kalafus]

>I just want the Plymouth as a showpiece, really; something to keep in the garage and to show off with all the other classic cars at my town's annual Gala. And to hear the engine purr

Start off with a '57 Chevrolet or '59 Ford, both of which offer decent mechanics and a ready supply of replacement parts, before making the leap into the rare when new and impossible to repair now '58 Plymouth. That era in Chrysler history is not remembered fondly. The '57s were the car that everyone wanted-they were longer lower wider and faster than anything else on the road that year - but the engineering was so poor and the assembly so shoddy that word of mouth made what should have been a record breaking year for the company merely a Big Success as sales tapered off amid a chorus of complaints from miserable owners. The '58s (among them Christine) were redesigned 1957s and sold poorly, as did most Chrysler cars through 1964: in the wake of catastrophic 1957, the company conducted an owners' survey and, to their horror discovered that the vast majority of those who bought the flashy '57 dream cars had no intention of purchasing another Chrysler product, ever. It took the better part of a decade to regain consumer confidence. If you do find a '58 with a functioning engine and a non rusted frame, you are well off buying three others in non-running condition to use for spare parts. You'll need them

(My parents 1957 DeSoto rusted from within and unexpectedly split in half after only a few years of driving. It still looked shiny and new, but as often happened with the '57 Chrysler products the evil worked its way to the surface)

>And to hear the engine purr

They knocked a lot as the oil leaked out. The lubrication system wasn't what it should have been, so expect a high pitched whine to develop. The last 1957 Chrysler I was in ( A New Yorker I was interested in buying) miraculously did not have a spot of rust on it but gave off a rhythmic, metallic, 'click' from within the engine compartment. "Purr" is not high on the list of noises emanating from '57 or '58 Chryslers.....however, some find their tubercular gasp to be appealing

especially in a convertible with the roof down.


>Is this what King is referring to when he constantly mentions 'The musty, death-like stench', or something along those lines?

Most likely.

 

[Ryan McKeefery]

Thanks for the info, Jim.

Your knowledge in this field impresses me somewhat. I still want Christine, though.

This is kind of like What's-His-Face trying to talk Arnie Cunningham out of buying the car from LeBay in the book, isn't it?

And we're on the "Spooky" thread...

*Twilight Show theme tune plays*

 

[Jim Kalafus]

>I still want Christine, though.

Well, in that case, I have a badly rusted non running '58, in Candy Apple Red with Ivory inset, which I'm willing to 'let go' , but only to the right buyer. (pauses to adjust filthy back brace)

>What's-His-Face
Dennis.

 

[Ryan McKeefery]

But you forgot the trade-mark line, Jim! Or is it Roland, now?

Robert - I have just scanned back through your photos and realised that I have made a mistake. At closer inspection of the photograph, I have seen that the car to which I referred is not a '58 Fury... The Fury had twin headlights. I think I was mislead by the 'V' shape on the bonnet, and the writing above it that I couldn't make out.
My mistake.

 

[Jim Kalafus]

>But you forgot the trade-mark line, Jim!

Can't say it on a family board.

>Or is it Roland, now?

You'll know for sure when you begin to become me.


Robert's photo is of a 1957 Chevrolet. The ideal car to take on as a first restoration project- lots of spare parts and a network of dealers and supportive fans.

 

[Robert T. Paige]

We've gotten a bit off track as far as Titanic goes, but I couldn't resist one more comment.
I had a '56 Plymouth Savoy (my first new car and one which held the record for longevity of ownership for many years ) and always thought ("IMHO") that was the most beautiful of the Chrysler products. The '57 Chevrolet (again "IMHO") I always thought copied the '56 Plymouth's tail fins- on the '56 Plymouth they were red tail lights while they were chromed on the '57 Chevrolet.

 

[matthew ewing]

Someone recently asked me what if the Titanic missed the iceburg, would it have been struck down in WWI, thought it was intresting so i'm posting it to see what others think.

 

[Brian Ahern]

Matthew, there's no way of knowing. One sister ship survived the war, one didn't. The Mauretania survived the war, her sister ship didn't. That's really how it was.

On another note, earlier in the thread people were talking about wanting to go back in time to keep the Titanic from sinking.
When people say this, what always immediately jumps out at me is that, if the ship hadn't sunk, there would be thousands of people on the planet today who aren't on it; and thousands more who are on the planet today who wouldn't be.

If the ship hadn't sunk, then the children from the second marriages of Mary Marvin, Madeleine Astor and Edith Pears would never have been born. So Madeleine wouldn't have divorced Mr. Dick, he wouldn't have then married Virginia Conner because he probably would have been in some other marriage, and the children from HIS second marriage wouldn't have been born. If Charles Fortune or the six Goodwin children had lived, they probably would have got married and had children. So whomever they would have married WOULDN'T have married whomever they actually DID marry, and the descendants of those marriages wouldn't be alive today.

It goes on and on and on.

That's why I never feel any desire to change history.

 

[Jon Meadows]

Not a ghost of a Titanic victim (depending on how you look at it), but Molly Brown's home in Denver is reportedly haunted by several ghosts. One is thought to be her husband because of the smell of cigars (he was an avid cigar smoker).

However, another of the ghosts likes to rearrange the silverware on the table. There is also a presence felt in her bedroom.

Here is an article:

http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/ah_travel_landmarks/article/0,1801,HGTV_3217_1381604,00.html

 

[Jason D. Tiller]

Hello Jon,

A very interesting article. Thanks for posting the link.

 

[Brandon Whited]

Yes, Molly Brown's former mansion is well-known for its supposed hauntings. There was an HGTV special about the house, which aired around Halloween in 2000. Actually, I think it might have just been a segment of a special, but regardless, I remember the house being featured.

 

[Melinda Tyler]

I'm actually writing a book on time travel to the Titanic. I have almost completed it. There is a connection to the 100 year anniversary of the ship's sinking, as well as some other interesting connections. My heroine, Miranda, time travels back to Titanic after finding a unique little "flip ring" in a vintage/antique shop. It is the flipping motion that sets time travel in place.

Miranda's paradox comes when she learns if Titanic is saved, then Emily (the person she becomes during the switch) will likely not meet and marry her *2nd husband* (her first would die in the sinking) and would not have the son who developed one of the most profound cancer treatments.

Then the question becomes--what other changes might occur if Titanic did not sink. The answer then is that we should not change history--for who are we to play God?

 

[David G. Brown]

Unfortunately, history does not reveal its alternatives.

But, that's what gives free reign to the fiction writer's imagination.

-- David G. Brown