Skip to main content

The Diligence


Storm over the Black Sea - Ivan Aivazovsky
Captain David Townsend watched as another wave swelled up before the HMS Diligence. The storm this afternoon was dangerous, though not altogether impossible to navigate. The captain's entire life had been spent training to sail through storms like this. A gale had forced him to cut the main sail. He would have to turn the Diligence toward the waves, but they would endure. Difficult, but not impossible, he thought.

The Diligence surfed a 40-foot wave. The captain laughed. Hell, he thought, this is fun. His ship caught speed. Her crew was capable, and Captain Townsend spared no effort in keeping the ship in mint condition. He was afraid, but no one else knew. Great captains before him had navigated storms just like this. Another wave crashed on the main deck, this one more jostling than those before.

"Captain," a crew member yelled, "we've lost the foremast!" The captain, positioned at the stern, looked ahead and saw the damage. The ship was now without propulsion. No way to steer except by rudder. Difficult, but not impossible, the captain repeated. He'd learned the habit of saying that phrase as a child whenever he felt afraid.

Off in the horizon, black clouds were pierced by a profound, crepuscular light searing through the clouds. Rain showered all around, night fell, but Captain Townsend felt hope in those distant rays. For a brief moment, the wind and the waves paused, and the water became smooth.  The crew stopped to look at the heavenly beams.
A few hundred feet off, Captain Townsend spotted a dark curtain of turmoil whispering across the water as another blast of wind approached. The Diligence gently spun around as a wave swelled, dragging the ship deep within its navel. The captain watched as a wall of water rose above. More winds battered against the ship. They were stuck against the wave as it began to crest. The water that showered down felt colder than the rain.

Difficult, but not impossible, thought Captain David Townsend as the wave broke, as the sea swallowed the HMS Diligence and all her crew.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kim Kardashian Thinks Nobody Wants to Work Anymore

When life sucks, count on elites to toss another log onto the fire of discontent. Recently, it was culture queen Kim Kardhasian who earned a spot on the “let them eat cake” list of worst things ever said.  “Get your fucking ass up and work. It seems like nobody wants to work anymore,” she was quoted in Variety Magazine. It’s nothing we’re not used to, but usually people who like  Rick & Morty aren’t this eager to parrot the opinions of their Dr. Laura Schlesinger era parents. And for me, this one hurt.  “I have the best advice for women in business,” Kim Kardashian says. “Get your f--king ass up and work. It seems like nobody wants to work these days.” https://t.co/HuddEEXmoM pic.twitter.com/KJCIlaVX3S — Variety (@Variety) March 9, 2022 Over the years, Kim K has shown up here and there for important causes. She met with President Donald Trump to pass the First Step Act that would circumvent mandatory minimum sentences. She used her Twitter to mention clima...
Post a Comment
Read more

How Crazy Are You? A Review of Ken Kesey's Nutso Novel

from The Huffington Post As I pause to destroy my technologically faulty keyboard and wireless mouse (my keyboard is a cabled $10 second hand model) for not responding when I click, allowing me to write an entire first sentence without even realizing my keystrokes were lost in the abyss of the inactive window, I am confronted with the obstinacy of nature, and my inability to affect it at my whim. It is frustrating. This reality upsets my comfort, and sometimes I want to scream. I may become angry, and if someone crosses my path at the wrong time, who knows what could happen? My emotions may take over, or maybe I'll suppress them longer, but that is only likely to make me crack, and if I crack, what then? What happens when one's emotions drive him to a place where he no longer feels capable relating to society? This is but one of the many questions raised by Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest . Are any of us crazier than the average asshole? Randle ...
Post a Comment
Read more

If You'd Tried Harder

The bruise on Dolores’ thigh grew by the minute. She scratched and scratched, tried to put pressure on the wound, but it just kept spreading its darkness over her leg. She heard footsteps coming down the stairs. She lowered her skirt to hide the wound. Her sister Helen entered the kitchen and gave her a gentle but cold embrace. "Are you okay?" smiled Helen, eyes wide. Dolores just looked at the floor. "Well?" Helen pressed. "Look, I’m sorry about what happened, but you know you don't have to suffer like this." Dolores lifted her gaze from the floor into Helen's eyes, narrowing beams of hot, vaporizing fury. Helen pretended not to notice the chill she suddenly felt. Their friends and neighbors said Dolores had kind eyes, but they wouldn't think so if they saw her now. "You know I love you," said Helen. Dolores sat silent for a while. "I know," she said, looking down at the floor. Her jaw squeezed as she winced at the ...
Post a Comment
Read more