In 2003, years after the Titanic film was released to the public, actor Bill Paxton opened up about how he went on a submersible ride to experience everything firsthand as well.
The interview was ahead of the documentary Ghosts of the Abyss release. The documentary showed director James Cameron discussing his inspiration for the film and taking several people, which included Paxton, on unscripted dives to the Titanic’s site.
“Each dive, I had to kind of look myself in the mirror and go ‘OK, are you ready for this?’” Paxton said in the 2003 interview. “It’s one of those things where Jim [Cameron] asked me in passing to go and…the opportunity of a lifetime. I jumped at it,” the actor explained.
“But then you start thinking about physically what’s going to be required of you to get into a three-man, deep-sea Russian submersible for a 13-hour dive,” he shared. “To go down two and a half miles to a place where the sun has never penetrated. And you’re starting to think ‘OK, I’ve got young kids. I need to get them to an age where they can support themselves before I do something this crazy.’”
“Jim is an infectious guy. And also, God, who wouldn’t go on this adventure?”
He even went on to even talk about how comfortable the inside of the submersible he dived in was. He said it was “relatively comfortable,” before noting that “certainly there are things that can go wrong.”
“If they do go wrong, it’s not going to matter anyway. And it’s going to happen so quickly that you’re not even gonna know it happened, probably,” he noted. “These are the thoughts you have going in.”
He even explained how to him, “the price of admission” seemed “kind of low” given the “great experience” you got in return.
“You approach the bow, and then you rise up over it. And you’re looking down on the ship, and you are a ghost of the abyss. And the images stay with you. The images, they really have an effect,” he said before he talked about the “personal story” attached to the sunken ship.
Posted by R.I.P Bill Paxton on Sunday, June 13, 2021
“I think all of us at some time in our dreams or even our waking moments have pictured ourselves: What would it have been like to be on that deck? Knowing that the lifeboats had gone away. What were you gonna do? Contemplating your own fate. It’s this ultimate parable of, how would you measure up?” he questioned, calling the Titanic “a perfect tragedy.”
“You think about the people on the water. You think about the people on the boats looking back and seeing the stern of that ship come up out of the water like a city rising up out of the sea,” the actor said. “You think about the people in the water. I swam in the water out there, which was a very disconcerting experience because you think there’s that much ocean underneath you.”
It was clear that the actor knew of all the risks before going into the experience. As for the five men aboard the submersible that dominated headlines in the last week, the U.S. Coast Guard announced that they discovered “presumed human remains.”
Kids Mock Needy Classmate for Cheap Halloween Costume until Principal Shows up Wearing the Same — Story of the Day
A poor little boy is in tears after being teased by his classmates for the cheap Halloween costume his father made until the school principal shows up wearing the same.
Levi loved his small house and his parents, Carol and Darren. They weren’t rich, but they were there for one another and him, which he admired. But one afternoon, after returning home from school, Levi was upset with his parents.
How could he not be upset? It was Halloween, the trick-or-treating season, and there was a fancy dress competition at his school, but Levi’s parents didn’t have enough money to get him a new costume.
His classmates would all be dressed as Superman, Batman, or one of the Avengers, but he would have to make do with his old costume!
For illustrative purposes only. | Source: Pexels
“Honey, please understand,” Carol said. “You know, daddy and I are trying our best to save this house. We need to put money aside for the mortgage payment.”
“Do you not love me, mom?” asked Levi sadly. “I don’t want the house. I want a new costume. But you love the house, not me!”
Carol sighed. “It’s not like that, honey. Mommy and daddy love you the most! We love you more than anything!”
“No!” he screamed in tears. “You are lying! You don’t love me! You love the house!”
With that, Levi disappeared to his room in tears and didn’t come out even for dinner. No parent wants to see their children sad; even Carol didn’t. Did she have a choice, though? Not really.
They were drowned in loans, and their small shop just brought them enough to get by. But seeing Levi sad bothered her, so she discussed it with Darren over dinner.
For illustrative purposes only. | Source: Pexels
“He’s sad, hun,” she said. “Can we get him a new costume? If not, I’ll find a part-time job.”
“Don’t stress yourself out, honey,” Darren said. “You already have too much on your plate right now. I’ve got an idea…”
Two days later, while Levi was eating dinner alone in his room, still upset with his parents about the costume, Darren walked in with a huge parcel in his hands.
In this cruel world, we must stand up for one another and encourage the good.
“Can I come in, little boy?” he asked at the door.
“No, you can’t,” Levi said. He didn’t even look up from his plate.
“Even if I say I got you a new costume?” Darren asked. “I thought you’d be excited.”
“Did you?” Levi looked at the parcel in Darren’s hands and grinned. “Is that a new outfit? Really?”
For illustrative purposes only. | Source: Pexels
“Yes, it is!” said Darren. “Now, can we have a little apology for mommy because you yelled at her two days ago? She was so worried about you.”
Levi was so excited to see his new costume that he bolted from his room and hugged Carol. “You and daddy love me! Not the house! I’m so sorry, mom! Let’s see my new costume together!” He held her hands and ran so fast that she almost tripped.
Then came the BIG moment. When Levi opened the parcel and saw the costume inside, he was in tears.
“Is that a robot?” he asked. “Dad, mom, I love robots!”
“We know you do, little boy,” said Carol. “Do you like it? Daddy made it for you!”
“I love it, mom and dad!” chirped Levi, wiping his tears. “I love it very much! And I love you so much! Thank you!”
For illustrative purposes only. | Source: Pexels
Levi was delighted. He loved the robot costume Darren had made out of cardboard and duct tape. Yes, it wasn’t expensive, but it had his heart and his dad’s efforts.
But on the day of the fancy dress event, Levi was crying because of the costume. He was sad because all his classmates were teasing him.
“Look, Levi is wearing a piece of colored cardboard!” a boy said and laughed. “He couldn’t even buy a new costume!”
“Don’t say that, Tony!” Levi protested, swallowing the tears in his eyes. “My dad worked hard on this! He went through videos on his computer, and he did so much hard work!”
“Oh, did he?” another kid said and chuckled with his friends. “Well, that outfit makes you look like a loser! I bet your dad’s a loser too!”
For illustrative purposes only. | Source: Pexels
All the kids were so mean to Levi that he started crying. When his name was called, he didn’t show up on the stage and instead cried backstage.
Soon, the show was over, and everyone got to flaunt their costumes except Levi.
“I’m so sorry, dad…” He sniffed. “I didn’t even take part in the competition! I wasted your hard work! I’m sorry…”
Suddenly, Levi heard a loud gasp. He looked at the stage and couldn’t believe his eyes. The school principal, Mr. Frederick, was on the stage, and he was dressed as a robot! A red one, unlike Levi, who was wearing a blue costume.
“Where is my fellow robot? Levi, where are you, child?” he called out from the stage.
For illustrative purposes only. | Source: Getty Images
“Mr. Frederick?” Levi exclaimed as he stepped onto the stage. “You have the same costume as me!”
“Call me, Captain Red!” he said stiffly. “Agent Blue, you got a nice suit there! Mine took so much time to make!”
“You look cool, Captain Red!” Levi smiled, having forgotten his worries. “My dad made me this suit! I just love it!”
“That’s wonderful, Agent Blue! I’ll ask your dad to make me a suit next time! I saw some kids didn’t appreciate your costume, so I thought, why not show them they’re wrong? You know what? I love your outfit! You’re lucky! Your dad spends love on you, which is more important than just spending money on children…”
That day, Levi won the competition. His dress stood out from the bunch of Spidermans, Batmans, Avengers, and Disney princesses, and he had a huge smile on his face as he lifted the trophy with Captain Red!
For illustrative purposes only. | Source: Pexels
At that point, the group of mean kids huddled around Levi and apologized. “WE ARE SORRY, LEVI!” they cried in unison. “Your costume was awesome!”
Levi was happy that the other kids loved his costume. He shared the big basket of candies he had won as a part of the prize with them and said, “It’s ok! I’m not sad anymore. Let’s not be mean to others, ok? Mommy and daddy say we should love each other!”
“That’s absolutely right, Levi,” Mr. Frederick said gently. “Always remember, kids, that we need to stand up for each other and encourage the good in this world. Never put others down! That’s what Captain Red and Agent Blue also believe in!” he added with a wink, and all the kids happily nodded as they devoured the Halloween candies.
For illustrative purposes only. | Source: Pexels
What can we learn from this story?
- In this cruel world, we must stand up for one another and encourage the good. Thanks to Mr. Frederick, the kids realized they were wrong to mock Levi and learned the importance of love over money.
- Spending love on children is more important than spending money. Levi’s parents couldn’t afford to buy him a new costume, but they loved him so much that they couldn’t bear the thought of him being unhappy. So they got him a lovely outfit that Darren created himself.
Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.
If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about an older woman who decides to feed a starving boy on Halloween and is shocked when the boy removes his mask—he’s her missing son’s carbon copy.
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