I enter these waters with much trepidation. I understand all these points of view and I have changed my point of view over the years as the "players" have become known to me- and their motives. I have know all the players from Grimm to Tulloch to Geller. Known them all well. I have known the men-known their hearts- known the greed of some, and the noble sentiments of others. My major point is to say that the players have changed-the agenda seems to be changing. It was my position at the beginning to establish, to the satisfaction of the French Minister of the Sea- a guarantee that our historical society, its archives, and experts, would support the effort to bring significant artifacts from the debris field of the wreck site and support the endeavor to preserve them for posterity, support their scientific restoration and conservation, and endorse the ultimate end of exhibiting them for benefit of international education and appreciation of a major event in world history. I went to court in Norfolk- I heard the proceedings involving Mr. Grimm. I was responsible for the translation of the Electricite De France scientific publication, OBJETS DU TITANIC for benefit of Judge Clarke. This was so detailed and in some cases ground-breaking in conservation technique, it required the talents of two chemists from MIT to do it justice. France was adamant that this be a genuine salvage ( a noble word with root -to save) and NOT a PLUNDER FOR PROFIT scheme. If more professional, careful divers and sub pilots than those Frenchmen exist in the world, I have yet to meet them. When the Nadir came into Norfolk with the davit from Titanic on her stern-the ENTIRE tragedy of that night fell in on me in a way no grainy black and white photograph could ever convey. I touched that davit, stood next to it, wondered whose hand had touched it last-who lived and who had to die because there were not enough boats for this davit. I saw the onboard lab with artifacts carefully packed in seawater-soaked foam, undergoing stabilization before going to France for conservation. Things were touched with reverence and awe. What was a story told was a story visible. I have been a teacher for many years, taken many students to meet survivors, observed their faces upon meeting living history. Knowing these people has had a profound effect on my life- and made an indelible impression on the minds of many young people. Very soon now there will be no more survivors-no tactile, visible remnant of this tragic, dramatic microsecond in the timeline of history. But Titanic's whistle will be forever- her bell, engine telegraph, davit,and touching human reminders of lives lost and dreams unfulfilled will go on when this generation is dust. Could any attempt at such a venture be perfect, satisfy everyone, meet every expectation-I doubt it- for the atmosphere was hostile toward the effort to try from the first day. Like it or not- and thanks to all the modern inventions of modern day technology, we ARE a VISUAL society. As an English teacher I know the attention span of the average student is about 10 minutes- and sadly we do NOT read. Young people respond -and this is positive- to the visual stimuli. Seeing the REAL thing has awakened interest in history and fostered good things. Young faces and OLD faces are mezmerized at exhibitions of artifacts wherever I have gone to observe both in the U.S. and Europe. I have compassion for the feelings of Eva Hart, Marshall Drew, and others who lost family- how could they feel otherwise. Visual reminders to those who were there are painful- just as to the men who came back from Vietnam. Franks Aks took another point of view- as a salvor himself- he wanted to see a recovery of artifacts- of course he and his mother were saved from the disaster. Circumstance affects opinion. A few years ago I went to see the Ramses II exhibit in Boston. It was fascinating to see the recovered items- the crowds were hushed and awestruck. At the very end, in a squalid glass box was the stripped and exposed mummy of the great Pharoh. Under the glare of bright lights I froze- this was TOO far. The dignity of human life is to be respected. This was not respect but raw sensationalism. The great thing is to know when to STOP. Yes, there were gawkers- it is the worst of human nature sometimes. After much digressing I must sum up by hoping that I have voiced an alternative view. It is a complex and emotionally explosive issue. Today I am on the sidelines by choice-those I knew and respected have come and gone-the salvage continues-I am no longer sure of the agenda. I have concerns- putting artifacts on the auction block I find distasteful but it is a fact of life from the sale of Jackie Kennedy's pearls to bits of the Hindenburg girder-it is our nature to want to own a piece of history. I hope it does not happen-it was not the intent of the original team. Just as the Press misrepresented so much to the public in 1912, so it does still today-one must look behind the printed word to the hearts and minds and deeds of the players in the drama-there is always much more to the story./ Shelley