Charles Lauriat went to extraordinary measures to protect his Thackeray drawings and his rare edition of A Christmas Carol, but eventually both were lost. In Lauriat's position, which possessions would you have tried to save?
Created: 03/20/16
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Join Date: 10/15/10
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Lauriat from the beginning was very cautious about the valuable book and drawings he was transporting and though it is easy to understand that he was desperate to save them, it was highly unlikely that he could. Therefore it seems to me he would have been most interested in saving himself.
Join Date: 06/10/13
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Join Date: 03/13/14
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There is something so human and so sad about trying to save a "thing". But for him, that thing took on a value that was more important than other humans. I'd like to believe that I am not like that, but I often wonder if that's aspirational or true. In the moment, people do odd things-- it's easy to judge him as foolish, but you have to wonder what was he thinking that made him make that choice?
Join Date: 07/29/14
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Join Date: 07/16/14
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Funny, you should ask. We travel for two months every year and sometimes there are tornado warnings in the area. Fortunately, they have come to naught. But, I often find myself before sleeping, thinking about where things are in our bedroom and what I would try to grab in an emergency. I also sometimes think what I'd try to grab if the house went afire, etc. And yet, if any emergency were to arise, I think that my concern would be for self-preservation, that of my husband and of our two cats. What would any of the rest matter were I to lose them?
It was touching to see that Lauriat saved his children's photos.
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Join Date: 02/20/16
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At first I remember thinking, 'if you're going to attempt to save the Dickens, go for the drawings also!'. (lol) I just got caught up in the moment, though. Honestly, living through something so horrendous, I'm sure surviving is the only thing that fills your thoughts. He probably thought, albeit briefly, that he was going to get away safely in a lifeboat and the book would've had a chance. When he got back on deck he seemed to sprint right into action trying to cut that lifeboat loose and he did manage to retrieve a number of life jackets and helped get them to passengers before going back to his room. I feel he was instrumental in saving a good number of people. He was pretty heroic. I was touched in the end how he carried that man with the broken leg on his back when they got into Queenstown.
I guess what I'm trying to say in my ramble is that even though he did think about a material thing (& I'm glad he was able to save his children's pics) when faced with danger, he really did forget about the material object and just focused on helping as many people as he could.
Join Date: 10/23/12
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If Lauriat had been afforded more time, I am sure he would have saved everything. He made a wise choice in saving himself ... I can't imagine that he didn't have regrets and that it was hard to leave those things behind. It would be very difficult to make certain choices when a ship is going down. It was interesting to read how different people reacted to the situation - some calmly and methodically, others completely losing it. How do we know how we'd react in just such a scenario?
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