RE: The Naming of Things... (3 Replies) shackleton - 06/24/1998 - 07:19:56 P Ernest Shackleton was a great polar explorer. Shortly after WWI started, he led an expedition from Great Britain into the Antarctic. The ship, Endurance, became icebound and eventually was crushed by the moving pack ice. Shackleton led his men to a deserted island in the region and then set sail with a small crew in an open boat across the frigid, stormy Southern Sea over a thousand miles to a whaling outpost on South Georgia Island, with only their navigation skills to keep them from missing the island and sailing to certain death on the open sea. They made it! They got help there and went back and rescued the rest of the expedition. The most amazing thing is that no lives were lost during all the peril. Many other polar expeditions, particularly British, lost some or all members (like Scott to the South Pole). He was a sorely-needed hero upon his return to a Britain fully engulfed in war. I needed a handle, and my recent exposure to this amazing story hooked me. Somebody should do a movie about this.

Hmmmm... (0 Replies) mab - 06/25/1998 - 08:44:06 A I seem to recall, as I read your account of this story, reading about this expedition in the fourth or fifth grade and being VERY absorbed in it. It was probably a very simplified version of the tale, tailored for youngin's, but I remember being very inspired by the bravery of these men and their leader. "Endurance" is an apt name for their ship! Thank you, shackleton! mab

Indeed!! (nt) >^..^ < (0 Replies) Jasmine - 06/25/1998 - 02:25:50 A

WOW! NT (0 Replies) Lite - 06/25/1998 - 01:29:37 A Lightly touched and loving it. ............................................