Re: [Paddlewise] Chattooga drowning & JFK Jr.

From: Shawn W. Baker <baker_at_montana.com>
Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999 08:17:48 -0600
Scott wrote:
>I think it's interesting that while we debate how far we are willing to go to recover the body of the unfortunate fifteen year old girl who drown on the Chattoga, our government is willing to spare no expense to recover the body of JFK Jr.

Oh boy, you know, the exact same thoughts crossed my mind yesterday. 
While the young lady who drowned was no less a citizen of the United
States than John Kennedy, her body retrieval became a debatable issue
while the retrieval of Jr. was totally a non-issue.  Of course fewer
environmental issues were directly involved with the plane crash, but
there was still a lot of diesel and helicopter fuel expended in the
search and later retrieval.

One thing that really bothers me--and I'm wrestling with myself whether
I'm right to be bothered or wrong--is that there was a great deal of
resources expended on a search, that by the 2nd or 3rd day, was for 3
bodies.  Would our government, or you as taxpayers, pay for a Naval
destroyer to transport my family to give my ashes to the ocean?  I am
not trying to make light of this tragedy, but had this happened to any
of us, it would be no less tragic for our families, yet they would be
"on their own" in dealing with this.  With his life directly "in the
public eye", did we, as a nation owe it to him more than the average
citizen?

I read on rec.boats.paddle yesterday that divers entered the hole on the
Chattooga where Rachel was presumably at, and her body had flushed
downriver.  I hope she can be easily found, so that her father can bury
her, if that's what he needs to do.

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Shawn Baker	  http://www.missoulaconcrete.com/shawn/
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Received on Fri Jul 23 1999 - 07:19:50 PDT

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