The following post is from December of 2014. Reading it today I'm led to think of talk radio and all the talking heads as they will mercilessly hammer Joe Biden no matter what decision he makes on anything.....demanding he resign as I heard one say the other day....and then leave Biden alone only long enough to mock and jeer Kamala Harris even more than Biden. Has it ever registered in their minds that if Biden leaves....Harris takes over....and if they both go.....Pelosi takes over?
The mood on the bridge was somber. The Captain never said a word as the chief engineer detailed the damage to the hull from the iceberg. All of the ship's officers were present. Muffled voices from somewhere on the decks below were the only sounds. It could have been a painting or a photograph. The scene almost had a Civil War flair to it as some of the uniformed men faced left....some straight ahead....some with a hand neatly placed between buttons on their coat. The Captain turned from looking out over the dark sea....picked up his cap from a table and carefully placed it over his grey hairs....walked over and unlatched the hatch....and it swung open as the ship was listing fast. The muffled voices became loud shouts....and the Captain....knowing the imminent fate of the ship....stepped out into the chilly North Atlantic air....reserved and dignified as he had done thousands of times before.As the hatch swung shut the voices once again became muffled and the officers seemed to breath for the first time. The First Officer spoke...."Gentlemen, I promise you that if I am made captain after this voyage I will restore the promise of this great ship." The Second Officer took two steps into the middle of the gathering and spoke next...."If I might interrupt sir, had you followed my advice we would have come to a stop hours ago at the first sight of icebergs." The Executive Officer cut him off "Stopped.....stopped! I would never have taken this route. Records are all you men are interested in....Fame!"
Everyone in the room was now shouting out allegations. They had all moved closer together and the scene was uncomfortable to watch for the one person not blessed by birth into the elite culture of the ship's staff officers. Throughout the entire meeting....the details....the captain's humiliation and the officers fighting over who might replace him....was a lowly ship's mate standing at the wheel....holding firm onto it as was his duty even though all engines had stopped. He turned suddenly to face the others....his face red as the ribbon across his cap just below the word HMS Inviolable. What was there to lose? "You are all daft! The ship is going to the bottom! None of you will live till morning!" The First Officer stared intently into his young face "Going down? Nonsense. This is His Majesty's Ship Inviolable. It is unsinkable!" At that point a pair of binoculars had slid off of a table and crashed onto the deck of the bridge. The lights flickered and a horrible groan emanated from the bowels of the ship. The officers, every one of them, for the very first time, realized what was indeed going to happen.
