Failure is not final

Thanks for sharing, Richard. On a lighter note, reminds me of an article I read about Michael Jordan several years back. He talked about how many times he missed the game-winning shot and other failures in his career. Only if we know failure do we know success.
 
There are a couple issues in the story that don't sit well with me. One is that Waddle says he considered killing his wife and daugher along with himself. I could understand the suicide thoughts, but why in the world would someone who we trusted as a submarine commander want to take the life of his wife and daughter. Seems awfully self centered to me.

Also, when I got to the part where he was making paid speeches about his failure and mental recovery, I was expecting to find some mention of what charity was receiving the collected funds, but it seems he's using the money to supplement his full miltary pension. IOW he's found a way to profit from his mistake and the misfortune it caused others and that just doesn't seem right (but all too common).
 
Two nights after Scott Waddle learned that nine people — including four teenagers — died because of his actions, he briefly considered using a ceremonial dagger in his home to stab his 13-year-old daughter, his wife and then himself.
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What.. The..****..

So he messed up killing some innocent people on a fishing boat and considered killing his wife and 13 year old daugther to make things better..... Uh.....
 
Suicide can be considered to be the ultimate selfish act. Even when dwelling in that dark world there still may exist compassion. Compassion for, say, your wife and daughter; compassion to not want them to suffer the grief of your own death. It's severe despondency which drives a person to such desperate thoughts to think he may save them by killing them. Also, perhaps he wanted to banish any and all traces of himself from this world. His wife and daughter are of him; he lives through them and as long as they live he would not accomplish death.

AFA the money making, why assume the article is complete? Perhaps the article is incomplete. Don't judge a man by the newspaper article. I know of this journalist. She is young, new, and prone to many errors.

The tale to be told is here is a man who carried great responsibility, failed miserably, sunk deeply, decided to pick up his responsibility and did not shirk it. In these times when it seems great excuses come by the gross for everyone to put in their back pocket, his story is a modern fable which should encourage us.
 
lancefisher said:
There are a couple issues in the story that don't sit well with me. One is that Waddle says he considered killing his wife and daugher along with himself. I could understand the suicide thoughts, but why in the world would someone who we trusted as a submarine commander want to take the life of his wife and daughter. Seems awfully self centered to me.

Also, when I got to the part where he was making paid speeches about his failure and mental recovery, I was expecting to find some mention of what charity was receiving the collected funds, but it seems he's using the money to supplement his full miltary pension. IOW he's found a way to profit from his mistake and the misfortune it caused others and that just doesn't seem right (but all too common).
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I am with you Lance. I had forgotten about this guy, but after reading about him I decided that he had not really improved upon his own self centered, selfish personality from the lesson he should have learned. The article appears to be a thinly veiled ad for his public speaking services.
 
Richard said:
AFA the money making, why assume the article is complete? Perhaps the article is incomplete. Don't judge a man by the newspaper article. I know of this journalist. She is young, new, and prone to many errors.
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what does being young and new have anything to do with it? shes a journalist...
 
I was the fourth poster on this thread yesterday morning, saying "so he was going to kill his 13 year-old daughter and wife to make things right? what a nutjob." and then was berated by a few folks for the comment. But now my post and the others have been removed. What gives?
 
Gerhardt said:
I was the fourth poster on this thread yesterday morning, saying "so he was going to kill his 13 year-old daughter and wife to make things right? what a nutjob." and then was berated by a few folks for the comment. But now my post and the others have been removed. What gives?
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There are two threads with this title. The one you posted in is here....
http://www.pilotsofamerica.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10707

Frankly, I didn't see any "berating" :confused::confused:
 
Thanks for the frank reply, Frank. Berating was a bit of a overstatement on my part. Disagreement would have been a more accurate term. Still, I have to agree with Lance about how he's recovered from his depression enough to profit from his negligence and mental instability.
 
Gerhardt said:
Thanks for the frank reply, Frank. Berating was a bit of a overstatement on my part. Disagreement would have been a more accurate term. Still, I have to agree with Lance about how he's recovered from his depression enough to profit from his negligence and mental instability.
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Well...as one who has dealt first hand with emotional trauma similar to the ones the Capt Waddell has had to deal with, I have no other option but to give him the benifit of the doubt. That sort of deep depression is so far beyond the scope of normal rational thinking, that it is often terribly misunderstood. AFA the other things are concerned, I'm just not privy to it. As I stated earlier, I hope he has found some peace. Peace is oft times an elusive thing, especially to those that suffer from depression.
 
Hey guys, I almost killed my parents and my sister, but I chose not to. Aren't I a great guy??
 
The logic and rationale of one caught in the depth of depression are not the same that you and I employ in the light of day. The way I read the article, he thought about doing it. That's a far cry from "almost" doing it.
 
Not too mention....he and his crew screwed the pooch, and he spiraled into a darkness most of us cannot comprehend.

He pulled himself out and is sharing this with others, and making a living doing it.

What, exactly, is wrong with that?
 
Gerhardt said:
I was the fourth poster on this thread yesterday morning, saying "so he was going to kill his 13 year-old daughter and wife to make things right? what a nutjob." and then was berated by a few folks for the comment. But now my post and the others have been removed. What gives?
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Whoa, brother man! I did NOT berate you! :no: All *I* did was point out that it was more complicated than that, is all!

And I think that MY post was the only one that even addressed your post! So never fear - we're not all out to getcha! :)
 
tdager said:
Not too mention....he and his crew screwed the pooch, and he spiraled into a darkness most of us cannot comprehend.

He pulled himself out and is sharing this with others, and making a living doing it.

What, exactly, is wrong with that?
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Absolute agreement with you!

And you know, while we ALL like monday morning q-backing, spiraling into that darkness is, I think, waay beyond anyone's ability to understand, unless we've been there.

There's a great country song out now with a chorus that goes:

If you're going through Hell, keep on going -
don't slow down, if you're scared don't show it!
You might get out before the Devil even knows you're there!

If you're going through Hell, keep on moving;
face that fire, walk right through it -
you might get out before the Devil even knows you're there . . .
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There's "demons" (so to speak - pitfalls, etc) everywhere, and it's sure easy for ANY of us to stumble and fall into a pit. And that's the truth - but anyone doesn't think so, I'll pray that you go to your grave at the end of a long life, still clueless! :D
 
etsisk said:
And you know, while we ALL like monday morning q-backing, spiraling into that darkness is, I think, waay beyond anyone's ability to understand, unless we've been there.
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So very true Tom.

etsisk said:
There's "demons" (so to speak - pitfalls, etc) everywhere, and it's sure easy for ANY of us to stumble and fall into a pit. And that's the truth - but anyone doesn't think so, I'll pray that you go to your grave at the end of a long life, still clueless! :D
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And here's an AMEN for that! :yes:
 
Richard said:
She kinda' looks like you too, Tony.:D
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*shudders* If that true, then Im sorry for her. Theres a reason she works at the newspaper and not the local TV station then...
 
SkyHog said:
Hey guys, I almost killed my parents and my sister, but I chose not to. Aren't I a great guy??
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You're an ok guy. Take your story on the road and charge people $10k to hear it and then you will be a great guy :eek:;):D
 
Frank Browne said:
The logic and rationale of one caught in the depth of depression are not the same that you and I employ in the light of day. The way I read the article, he thought about doing it. That's a far cry from "almost" doing it.
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I've gotta give you that. And you're right, I have no real insight to what he was really thinking or feeling, but I still harbour a suspicion that takes an awfully "me centric" personality to feel that way, even in the darkest frame of mind. IOW, I don't believe that I would entertain the notion of killing my loved ones no matter how depressed I felt. Taking my own life, maybe. Consider killing someone I believed to be the cause of my grief, possibly (remember we're talking about severe depression here). But killing my daughter? No way, no how unless I was on drugs big time or had a serious brain tumor.
 
tdager said:
Not too mention....he and his crew screwed the pooch, and he spiraled into a darkness most of us cannot comprehend.

He pulled himself out and is sharing this with others, and making a living doing it.

What, exactly, is wrong with that?
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I have no qualms with the sharing part. But as far as making a living at it, I know that if I were the parents of one of the victims of his mistake, I'd consider his "making a living" as a nearly direct result of my child's death as adding insult to injury. Now if he were funnelling his income from this to the victim's families, or towards something that would diminsh the chances of a repeat, I'd feel a lot better. And to be fair, as someone pointed out, he may be doing that and the report simply ommited that tidbit. Seems unlikely though as it would add a nice touch to the story.
 
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