What does your family think of your Titanic obsession

[Tarn Stephanos]

I have been interested in the story of the Titanic for as long as I can remember-

In 1979, when "SOS Titanic" was aired on tv, I was a young buck of 11 , and a hardcore Titanic buff even then.
My family thought my hobby was a bit odd, but they encourged it, as I delved into reading adult level books, and it was expanding my mind....

These were the pre-discovery days, and Titanic buffs were not as easy to find as today.

Sometimes I think I may have been the only hardcore Titanic buff in Boston between 1980-85, as I was the only regular who frequented the local antiquarian bookstores searching for Titanic books.
Only after the ship was discovered in 1985 would competition spring up...
My teachers supported my hobby-all but one- A history teacher thought my interest in the Titanic was unhealthy-
So he actually called in my parents, and told them that interest in such a 'morbid' topic could mean I have violent tendencies.
Keep in mind I never got into a fight in all of Jr high and high school.They ignored him in the end.....
I have never dated a Titanic buff-not sure I could- that competition in collecting rare Titanic books would be too frustrating- my past girlfriends all thought my Titanic interest was a bit wierd...
How about all of you- What does your family, significant others and/or teachers think of your Titanic interest?
Have you ever had to contend with someone in your life ridiculing your Titanic interest, and encorage you to stop reading about the Titanic?

Do most people in your life encourage, or discourage your research intio Titanic?

By and large, my family and friends have been very supportive.

Regards


Tarn Stephanos

 

[Damon Hill]

Hi Tarn, My family and friends really don't give it a lot of thought. My family have always ben happy to buy me books etc or record items off the news etc. My Mums great Grandfather worked for the White Star line on the Britannic and another ancestor worked on the Mauretania so the sea is in our genes. One friend of my parents did say once,"Why do you like that? It's morbid. All those people dying".The Titanic is much more than that. A friend jokingly says occasionally,"Damon, the ship sank.Get over it!" They all love to see the models i've made though!

 

[Matthew Lips]

My fiancee probably thinks I spend w-a-y too much on Titanic videos and books. Her interest in the subject is zero, but some of my enthusiasm must have rubbed off because she had a former house guest start building a Titanic model out of matchsticks.

Unfortunately, he moved out before finishing the job and left us with a complete bow, cardboard hull, and zero superstructure!

 

[Jonathan Granato]

I presume my family is impressed that I made it to So'ton and Godalming on my first trip to England in 1996. They've known about my obsession w/this since 1966 or '67 (when was the Time Tunnel episode aired?).

It's not really something that comes up in general conversation, although my sister's children seem to be interested when I tell them about my experience.

 

[Tarn Stephanos]

This makes me wonder..
Are you all the only Titanic buff in your family?

I once encountered a father & son who were equally hardcore Titanic buffs, but that seems rare.

I have met very few couples where both people were Titanic buffs.

We Titanic buffs seem to find oursleves being the only Titanic buffs in our families,schools and resepective communities.

I was the only Titanic buff in my family and school....

Regards



Tarn Stephanos

 

[Jonathan Granato]

I am the only Titanic buff in my family. Only aviation buff as well. I grew up under final approach to JFK.

 

[sandro campisi]

my obsession with this is since 1974, when I read ANTR, I was 6 years old. Why the obssesion with the boat begins when we are kids....

 

[Michael H. Standart]

As far as I know, I'm the only one in my family who's taken a really deep interest in the ship. But then maritime and aviation history have both been interests of mine for as long as I can remember and I've been able to do something about both. I've gone to sea, piloted a couple of aircraft, and in regards Titanic, even co-wrote an article on the Californian mess with two friends (And taken the usual heat for it.) as well as participated in three gatherings one of which was an academically recognized symposium.

I don't know if a lot of people in my family beyond Mum and Dad know about it, and they've been nothing if not supportive.

 

[Tracy Smith]

Actually, it was my brother who got me started on it, as he's always been interested in ships and maritime history, although my interest surpassed his years ago.

 

[Sahand Miraminy]

Hey Everyone,

I guess I'm the only person in my family who is in to the Titanic. They usually make fun of me and sing the "oooo ooo oooo" from sisels voice in the movie. Sometimes my brother says that it is a rotting piece of wood at the bottom of the ocean which usually makes me laugh. Sometimes they seem a little interested in it though and ask questions or something like that.

Almost all my friends know about my obsession......probably because I draw the Titanic during class all the time. Sadly it probably lowered the grades in my classes significantly.....O WELL. They always try to make me play my heart will go on at school or try to make me teach them but I'm very impatient. Other than that I dont think anyone in my school knows that I think of the hallways rising with water or that I can make myself see the Titanic when im outside or in the car docked in some tall grass...(weird huh)

I know of a teacher in my school who is new who is obsessed with the Titanic. I haven't got the guts to randomly go up to him but next week when I walk past him in the hallway I will say TITANIC and see if he stops.

I wrote alot so Im goin!

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>...(weird huh)<<'

Not so weird as far as I'm concerned. Some of our schools are such a disaster that having them flood and sink would be an improvement!

When I was going to high screwal school, one of our teachers...a lady name Sandra Johnson...was a member of the Titanic Historical Society. I wonder if she's still around. By now, she may well be thinking of retirement.

 

[Mark Robert Hopkins]

My mother is into it, too, hehe. She's always been fascinated by the whole thing, although she isn't up on doing research or accumulating collections of literature/movies. She highly supports me. Of course, I can't say the same thing about most of my friends, who do not necessarily have anything against the Titanic, but haven't been hit by the Titanic bug like I have.

As for me, I wouldn't consider myself "obsessed," just well-intuned with the whole thing. It has become a major part of my life, however...

High school halls flooding? I agree, Michael, for some that I have seen, especially in the inner city of Detroit (went to high school in the suburbs, but I've seen a few in the inner city), sinking would be a definite improvement. The hall monitors would have been like officers going around saying, "everybody topside to the boats," or like stewards handing out lifebelts, hehe.

 

[Randy Bryan Bigham]

My family has always been supportive of my interests and shared in them to an extent, including my Titanic interest. However, with the exception of my mother, who seemed to grasp the power of the story from the beginning, my father and sisters (and my friends) did not really "get it" until the Cameron movie came out. People can say what they will about the film but it is responsible for bringing the story of Titanic out of the realm of bad jokes to a fuller understanding of what the disaster was like and why it’s important that we preserve the memory of the people involved. My youngest sister, who was expecting at the time the movie came out, was so affected by the scene of the lady with the baby asking "Where shall I go?" that she has never watched the movie again. And when I went to see the movie on opening night with my best friend, who had always teased me about Titanic, he actually broke down in tears watching the scene just after the sinking, where the camera pans out to show the many hundreds of people in the water.

 

[Adam Usher]

i have just asked my parents what they think of my titanic obsession. They both dont mind it apart from when i spend a fortune on ebay buyinbg books and videos.

I got interested in Titanic 10 years ago. I had never heard of it before and i saw a huge model of it in a glass case at the transport museum in Ireland. From then on i reaserched into thge sinking on the internet and bought SOS Titanic.

I am the only person that i know of in my village and family that is trully interested in Titanic.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>High school halls flooding? I agree, Michael, for some that I have seen, especially in the inner city of Detroit (went to high school in the suburbs, but I've seen a few in the inner city), sinking would be a definite improvement.<<

Well, it would certainly reduce the number of firefights going on in some of these places. If nothing else, it would also put some tired old buildings out of their misery.

>>And when I went to see the movie on opening night with my best friend, who had always teased me about Titanic, he actually broke down in tears watching the scene just after the sinking, where the camera pans out to show the many hundreds of people in the water.<<

If nothing else, Cameron's film came as close as any could come to capturing the emotional impact on the survivors, especially with the throng of people screaming in the freezing water. After seeing that, it's not such a leap to see why Frankie Goldsmith avoiding cheering crowds like the plague. Nobody wants to re-live a horror like that, especially when they've done it for real!

There's still a lot of myth versus reality in the film. Unavoidable when dealing with Hollywood I'm afraid. But then, if it motivates anyone to check out the reality...as far as it can be known...behind the myth, surely that's a good thing.