Inspired by Max’s blog, ‘Old Steam Ships’ –
“MTS Oceanos: When the Entertainers Took
Command”. As in all my retellings of these
disasters, some events have been dramatized
but are based on facts I have researched.
Category: Original Series
Sixty Feet From Shore: SS Valencia Ballad
Inspired by Max’s blog, ‘Old Steam Ships’ –
“So Close Yet So Far”, this is my ballad
about the unimaginable sinking of the
SS Valencia, January 22, 1906 in the
Pacific Northwest, just sixty feet from shore.
The Last Crossing: The Story of Thomas & Mary Ashworth
Inspired by Max’s blog, ‘Old Steam Ships’ –
“RMS Mauretania: Queen of the Atlantic”.
Finally a steam ship story that isn’t tragic!
The Big Push: A Case For Dirk Malone
Written for Sunday Whirl Wordle.
Here are Brenda’s prompt words:
show, backbone, beings, believe, bit, storm,
stream, ring, scratch, tempting, devil, hunch
Many Unhappy Returns: A Minnie Ming Mystery
Written for Great Minds Think – “The Five
Clues Challenge”. Our hosts, Sarah & Rohini,
challenge us to write a poem or story
incorporating these five clues:
a red umbrella, a missing tooth, 1984,
a woman who hates birthdays, a bird that cannot fly
Almost Home: A Widow’s Song ~ SS Sultana
Inspired by Max’s blog, ‘Old Steam Ships’ –
“SS Sultana: A Fire That Changed Laws”.
This poem/ballad was written in the voice of
Sarah Campbell, widow of Pvt. William T.
Campbell, 7th Tennessee Cavalry. Everything
I have written about Pvt. Campbell, Cahaba,
Andersonville, and Sultana is true and based on fact.
A Toast To Treachery: A Minnie Ming Mystery
Written for Sunday Whirl Wordle.
Here are Brenda’s prompt words:
swallow, tag, find, music, swelling, bell,
delirium, spell, pales, knowing, just, senses
Lights In Rio: SS Columbia
Inspired by Max’s blog, ‘Old Steam Ships’:
SS Columbia – The Ship That Proved Edison Right.
This week I have chosen not to focus on the tragedy
surrounding the Columbia. Rather, this is a fictional
dramatization in what might have been the voice of
Emperor Dom Pedro II of Brazil when he saw the
electric lights installed on the Columbia.
The Silk Exchange: A Minnie Ming Mystery
Written for Sunday Whirl Wordle.
Here are Brenda’s prompt words:
casualties, phase, profit, drop, folly, cold,
hungry, dawn, complicit, evil, stream, reckoning
SS Princess Alice: The River Remembers
Inspired by Max’s blog, ‘Old Steam Ships’:
“SS Princess Alice: Tragedy on the Thames”.
This is a fictionalized ‘penny paper’ article as
it may have been reported in the late Victorian era.
A Bullet’s Worth: A Case For Dirk Malone
Written for Sunday Whirl Wordle.
Here are Brenda’s prompt words:
firm, vice, world, wind, cares, someone,
worth, wound, word, here, seem, spiral
Where There’s A Will: A Minnie Ming Mystery
Written for Crispina’s
Crimson’s Creative Challenge
What My Grandfather Carried: Domenic DiStefano and the General Slocum
Inspired by Max’s blog, ‘Old Steam Ships’:
“PS General Slocum – New York’s Forgotten
Tragedy”. This story is very personal and was
difficult for me to write. It’s my grandfather’s
story of what would be the worst loss of life
from a single disaster in the history of New
York until 9/11. Thank you for reading.
Rammed At Dawn
Inspired by Max’s blog, ‘Old Steam Ships’ –
RMS Olympic: Old Reliable. Please be sure
to check out Max’s site for more information,
videos, and photos of RMS Olympic.
The Watchman of the Engine Room
Inspired by Max’s blog, ‘Old Steam Ships’ –
“One of Lake Superior’s Enduring Mysteries”.
I have written a ghost poem/song about
“Old Whitey”, the specter who haunts the
Kamloops, preserved by the frigid water.
The Silver Compass: A Minnie Ming Mystery
Written for Sunday Whirl Wordle.
Here are Brenda’s prompt words:
velvet ~ compass ~ echo ~ random ~ rust ~ silver
shadow ~ pebble ~ stone ~ drone ~ clip ~ dry
Between Two Shores: Vito’s Story
Inspired by Max’s blog, ‘Old Steam Ships’ –
SS Andrea Doria: The Last Great Ocean
Liner Disaster. This one is personal;
this is the story of my father,
what he felt in his heart and
what he would have said.
Wreckage: A Nadine Harrow Mystery
Written for Crispina’s
Crimson’s Creative Challenge
The Winter We Remember
Inspired by Max’s blog, ‘Old Steam Ships’ –
SS Fleurus: The Day the Circus Ship
Caught Fire, this is my ballad for
Shirley and Jenny. As you may have
guessed by the name of my site, I am
extremely fond of elephants; they
do not belong in the circus.
Please check out Max’s site
for the story of the SS Fleurus.
Lady In Red: A Dirk Malone Story
Written for Sunday Whirl Wordle.
Here are Brenda’s prompt words:
siren ~ chanting ~ startled ~ pulse ~ sighs ~ night
basket ~ answers ~ heart ~ shape ~ badge ~ stay
SS Pacific: Guilty Conscience
Inspired by Max’s blog, ‘Old Steam Ships’ –
this is my fictionalized “confession” (and I
use that term loosely) made by an un-named
foreman from an unknown shipyard, written
days after the coroner’s inquest re the SS
Pacific, addressed to no one in particular,
which somehow makes this tragedy even
worse. See my notes on the coroner’s inquiry.
Ballad of the Lifeboat: SS City of Benares
Inspired by Max’s blog, ‘Old Steam Ships’ –
this is my poem & ballad about the SS City of Benares
Paid In Full: A Dirk Malone Story
Written for MLMM Monday Wordle;
the prompt words are shown below.
light ~ cast ~ street ~ tickle ~ sensitive ~ view
cool ~ pigeon ~ dance ~ attract ~ evening ~ glow
The Fourteenth Guest: SS Île de France
Inspired by Max’s blog, ‘Old Steam Ships’ –
this is my dramatized fiction piece based
on a true renowned introduction on
board the SS Île de France, written
in the style of Ernest Hemingway.
Four Seconds: RMS Lusitania
Inspired by Max’s blog, ‘Old Steam Ships’ –
this is my dramatized first-person fiction
built around the documented history of
Kapitänleutnant Walther Schwieger,
commander of U-20 responsible for
the sinking of the RMS Lusitania.
Inside Job: A Dirk Malone Story
Written for Muse On Monday. We are asked
to write a story about an article of clothing.
My People
Inspired by Max’s blog, ‘Old Steam Ships’ –
this is my story based on facts about the SS Eastland
disaster in the voice of Harry B. Thayer, President
of Western Electric, who chartered the ship
for 2,500 employees and their families
for a company picnic. Thanks, Max!
Holding Our Own: SS Edmund Fitzgerald
Inspired by Max’s blog, ‘Old Steam Ships’ –
this is my fiction story based on facts about the
SS Edmund Fitzgerald from the vantage point
of SS Anderson First Mate, Morgan Clark.
After Pennsylvania: A Letter To Henry
Inspired by Max’s blog, ‘Old Steam Ships’ –
this is my story based on facts about the tragic
boiler accident on the steamboat Pennsylvania
which killed Henry Clemens, younger brother
of Samuel Clemens, AKA Mark Twain.
Promised Land: Fire & Water – From Mount Breckan to SS Waratah
Inspired by Max’s blog called ‘Old Steam Ships’.
This is my fiction story combined with facts about
four passengers on board the doomed SS Waratah.
