Late Titanic star Bill Paxton revealed true feelings about his own fearful experience of submersible dive for movie

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.”

Entitled Neighbor Vandalized My Sick Grandpa’s Car – I Taught Her to Mind Her Own Business

When I saw the cruel message scrawled on my recovering grandpa’s dusty car, I was livid. But uncovering the culprit’s identity was just the beginning. What I did next would teach this entitled neighbor a lesson she’d never forget.

Two months ago, I was at work when my phone rang. It was Mom.

“Meg, it’s Grandpa,” she barely managed to speak. “He’s in the hospital. He—”

“What? Hospital?” I cut her off, totally blindsided. “What happened?”

A woman talking on the phone at work | Source: Pexels

A woman talking on the phone at work | Source: Pexels

“He had a heart attack,” Mom continued in her shaky voice. “We gotta go see him.”

“Oh my God, Mom, is he okay?”

“I don’t know, Meg…”

“I’ll be there as fast as I can, Mom,” I replied as I quickly logged out of my work email.

The thing is, Grandpa Alvin is my rock, my confidant, and my favorite person in the world. It won’t be wrong to say that I love him more than Mom. Shh! It’s a secret!

An older man standing in his house | Source: Midjourney

An older man standing in his house | Source: Midjourney

And that phone call from Mom had turned my world upside down. I could literally feel a knot in my stomach as I rushed out of my office after informing my boss about Grandpa’s condition.

The drive home from my workplace is a blur. I don’t remember how I got there, but I quickly picked Mom up before we rushed to the hospital.

A woman driving a car | Source: Pexels

The drive from our house to the hospital was about 45 minutes long. And let me tell you, those were the longest, most painful 45 minutes of my life. Mom kept crying the entire time, while I could feel my heart pounding inside my chest.

Once we reached there, a nurse told us that Grandpa was in the operating room. After what felt like an eternity, the doctor came out.

A close-up shot of a doctor's arms crossed on his chest | Source: Pexels

A close-up shot of a doctor’s arms crossed on his chest | Source: Pexels

“The surgery was successful, but he needs rest and care,” he told us. “He needs to eat a heart-healthy diet, low in salt and saturated fats. Regular, gentle exercise is crucial. And absolutely no stress.”

“Alright, doc,” I nodded. “But when can we see him?”

“Is he really okay?” Mom asked impatiently.

“Don’t worry,” the doctor reassured her. “He’s resting comfortably now. The nurses will let you know when it’s a good time to visit.”

A doctor talking to a woman | Source: Midjourney

A doctor talking to a woman | Source: Midjourney

Grandpa was allowed to go home a few days later, but there was a problem. He lives in another town, and we couldn’t visit him every day to look after him.

As a result, we hired a full-time nurse.

She was a godsend, agreeing to cook for him too. For two months, Grandpa didn’t leave his apartment and focused solely on his recovery.

Last week, I realized it had been too long since I’d seen him.

A woman sitting on a chair, thinking | Source: Midjourney

A woman sitting on a chair, thinking | Source: Midjourney

“Mom,” I said over breakfast, “I’m going to visit Grandpa this weekend. Wanna come?”

Her eyes lit up.

“That’s a wonderful idea, honey,” she smiled. “I’ll come with you. He’ll be so happy to see us!”

“Perfect!” I said before I took a bite of my scrambled eggs.

On Saturday, I woke up early, bought a bouquet of Grandpa’s favorite bright yellow sunflowers, and drove all the way to his place with Mom.

A bouquet of sunflowers on a car | Source: Pexels

I couldn’t wait to meet him and see his face light up. I was expecting a day full of Grandpa’s stories, unaware of what was waiting for us there.

As we pulled into the parking lot of his apartment complex, I spotted his old, beat-up car. It was covered with a thick layer of dust, clearly proving he hadn’t driven it since getting sick.

But as we got closer, something made my blood boil.

A woman in a car | Source: Midjourney

A woman in a car | Source: Midjourney

Someone had left a message on the rear windscreen. It seemed like they had written it using their finger. It looked fresh.

The message read, “YOU ARE A DIRTY PIG! CLEAN UP YOUR CAR OR GET OUT OF THE COMMUNITY. SHAME! SHAME! SHAME!”

I was absolutely furious. How could someone be so cruel to an old man who’s been too sick to even get out of bed, let alone clean his car?

A woman in a car, looking angry | Source: Midjourney

A woman in a car, looking angry | Source: Midjourney

“Oh my God,” Mom gasped. “Who would do such a thing?”

I clenched my fists. I could feel my cheeks burn with rage.

“Some entitled jerk with nothing better to do than harass a sick old man, that’s who.”

Then, I felt Mom’s soft hand on my arm.

“Honey, calm down,” she said. “Let’s not upset your grandfather.”

I took a deep breath, trying to compose myself.

“You’re right. Let’s go see him.”

A parking lot of an apartment complex | Source: Pexels

A parking lot of an apartment complex | Source: Pexels

We quickly headed up to Grandpa’s apartment. I rang the bell, waiting for him to open the door.

“My girls!” he smiled from ear to ear. “What a wonderful surprise!”

“Grandpa!” I hugged him tight. “You look so good! So handsome!”

“Well, of course I do!” he chuckled. “When have I ever not looked handsome? Even in my hospital gown, I was turning heads left and right!”

An older man in his house, smiling | Source: Midjourney

An older man in his house, smiling | Source: Midjourney

As we headed inside, I couldn’t stop thinking of the cruel message on his car. I couldn’t erase that image from my mind.

“Megan? Are you listening, sweetheart?” Grandpa’s voice snapped me back to reality.

“Sorry, Grandpa. I was just… thinking. How are you feeling?”

We chatted for a while, but my mind kept drifting to that message. I needed to do something about it.

“Hey, I need to take care of something real quick,” I said, standing up. “Mom, can you stay with Grandpa? I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

A woman talking to her mother | Source: Midjourney

A woman talking to her mother | Source: Midjourney

“Sure, honey,” Mom said.

In no time, I headed down to the security office near the entrance, where I met a bored-looking guy sitting behind the desk.

“Excuse me,” I said. “I need to see the security camera footage from the parking lot.”

He raised an eyebrow as he straightened his back.

“Sorry, ma’am. We can’t just show that to anyone who asks.”

A security guard | Source: Midjourney

A security guard | Source: Midjourney

I leaned in, lowering my voice.

“Look, my grandfather lives here. He’s been very ill, and someone vandalized his car with a horrible message. I need to know who did it.”

The guard hesitated, then nodded.

“Alright, just this once.”

We reviewed the footage from the last few days when I suddenly saw an older, snooty-looking woman, heading towards Grandpa’s car. She took her sweet time to write that awful message on his car.

An older woman standing near a black car | Source: Midjourney

An older woman standing near a black car | Source: Midjourney

“Who is this?” I asked the guard.

“That’s Briana from 4C,” he said. “Always causing trouble.”

I thanked him and turned to leave, but he stopped me.

“Wait, there’s something else. I overheard some of the neighbors talking in the lobby last week. Apparently, this Briana woman has been giving your grandfather a hard time for months now.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

He scratched his chin thoughtfully.

A security guard talking to a woman | Source: Midjourney

A security guard talking to a woman | Source: Midjourney

“Well, they were saying she’s been complaining about every little thing. Like, she’d make a fuss if his newspaper was left out too long, or if his welcome mat wasn’t perfectly straight. One of the ladies even mentioned that Briana tried to get your grandpa fined for having a potted plant that was ‘an unapproved color’ or something ridiculous like that.”

“Are you serious? Why hasn’t anyone done anything about this?”

“Most folks just try to avoid her, I guess,” he shrugged.

An older woman talking angrily | Source: Midjourney

“Your grandpa’s too nice to make a big deal out of it. But between you and me, I think everyone’s getting pretty fed up with her attitude.”

Yeah, my grandpa’s nice, but I’m not, I thought to myself before marching straight to Briana’s apartment.

The door opened soon after I knocked on it.

“Can I help you?” she asked.

“I’m Alvin’s granddaughter,” I said, struggling to keep my voice steady. “I saw what you wrote on his car. You have no right to humiliate him like that!”

A young woman talking to her grandfather's neighbor | Source: Midjourney

A young woman talking to her grandfather’s neighbor | Source: Midjourney

“I don’t care,” she shrugged. “If he can’t keep up with community standards, maybe he shouldn’t be living here.”

And with that, she slammed the door in my face.

I was livid. It was clear that talking to her wasn’t going to get anywhere, so I decided to handle it my own way. I came up with a plan to teach her a lesson. All I needed was a roll of duct tape and a paper with evidence.

A woman leaving a building | Source: Midjourney

A woman leaving a building | Source: Midjourney

The next day, I took a screenshot of the security camera footage, ensuring Briana’s face was clear, and got it printed. Then, in big, bold letters, I wrote: “SHAME! SHAME! SHAME! Lady from Apt 4C is abusing elderly neighbors.”

I taped that sign right in the elevator where everyone would see it. It was crystal clear who she was and what she’d done.

Within a day, the whole building was buzzing.

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