We live in an age when we can journey the world with such ease. The story of "Paradise island, heavenly journey" is set at a time when that was not the case. As a family our journey to the Far East was by ship, voyaging over a number of weeks. I was the youngest of six children, dad would often have gone ahead to attend to his duties. Mum would be left to care for the 6 of us on her own in the middle of the ocean. Believe me, that was quite a handful. There are many incidents that can come to mind in that context, including the family facing the prospect of the need of the lifeboats. The exerpt today reflects some of that story:

"There was a fire on board! This was not merely a practice, came the repeated message, this was for real! The thought sprung through the mind, what an inconsiderate timing, but the reality is that disasters will often spring forth at the most inconsiderate of times, at a time when it was least expected." 

Mum had been in the bathroom as the alarm sounded, and someone else was responsible to see we all arrived on the upper deck.   

"Violet would have wanted to be with her children, but she realized that for their safety it was equally imperative that she allowed someone else to accept the delegation of responsibility, rather than them waiting till she was ready.

She could hear people moving out from their cabins, and then heading along the corridor towards the lifeboat deck. As they passed by, Violet could visualise the routine that they were all going through, having attended so many life boat drills during her various voyages. She had been there so many times that she could have gone through the motions even in her sleep. As the passengers and crew assembled underneath the lifeboats, one group to the port side and another group to the starboard, their names would be called out from the official passenger list. The deck officer in charge of each lifeboat verified the names to make sure that nobody was missing."

"Violet appeared to be the last passenger to make her way along that deserted corridor to safety. Panic seemed to be the order of the day as she arrived on the deck as many people appeared out of control in the midst of fear and distress, and some of them were seen to have dashed hurriedly on deck in all manner of state of dress, with some merely wearing a towel that was wrapped loosely around them!"

"As she looked at each of them, she began to be filled with alarm with the discovery she made. One of the children was missing! Even with six children, a mother soon knows that one of her own is missing. There was no doubt in her mind, she had looked at each one of them in turn and only five faces could be seen returning her concerned looks. She called across to Margot, “Where is everyone? Where is your brother? I cannot see him anywhere!” He was missing!"

"Timing was of the essence, the saving of a young boys life depended on it. She was a mother, and any mother would no doubt have reacted in much the same way when realizing that she had a child that was in danger. The first hurdle, however, was to find a way of getting past the crew that was guarding the doorway back into the heart of the ailing ship. No one was permitted to return in that direction. Violet was small in stature, some four foot ten inches, and slightly built, but not one member of the crew were big enough to prevent her going through, no matter how huge they may have been in terms of physical stature. She was small, but the words vertically challenged did not seem to be appropriate as she challenged the seamen that lay before her. They were a human barrier between her and the child she was missing, but in this moment in time she was determined they would not remain as a barrier, they were merely hurdles that were placed there for her to overcome.

 A mother’s love will always put everything into a different perspective. George Bernard Shaw once said.

The risks were clear and real. Would she find the child? Would they both make it back to the lifeboats before the heavy doors completely blocked the way to hope?

http://open.salon.com/blog/jonmagee/2010/08/26/paradise_island_heavenly_journey

http://open.salon.com/blog/jonmagee/2010/08/29/paradise_island_heavenly_journey_an_introduction