From Harwick Road to Chestnut Street

Dear Silas,
Volcanoes only explode, and Pompeii was a good town. It had a volcano, and it exploded on the town! And now it is dead. You are very kind, and Pompeii was buried before it was even volcanoed.
<James: Owen, let me tell you something. Mt. Vesuvius erupted on August 24th, AD 79.>
That was a good Pompeii story.
Gymnastics is very fun. I like presents on mine birthday. I'm a good sport guy by doing both of them.
I love you, Silas. Owen

Dear Roland,
Mine favorite Jack and Annie book was Volcano in Pompeii. Sometimes we don't go in carwashes. I'm sorry I'm faster than you. Football is fun. We watched the Buffalo Bills play the Colts, and the Colts were winning. I love you, Roland. Owen

Dear Aunt Martha,
You are a kind guy. We like you. We like the Titanic, and it was a BIG ship.
<James: It sank in the year 1912.>
Yeah, on August 49th.
<James: No, it sank on April 15th. It hit the iceberg on April 14th at 11:40>
The Titanic sunk hitting a iceberg. The Bismarck sunk by a lot of other ships and torpee-toes.
<James: It sank by airplanes that dropped the torpedoes.>
I love you, Aunt Martha. Owen

Dear Silas,
Volcanoes do nothing but erupt and sleep. Just so you know, you are a sponge. Well, I hope you are excited for Halloween, because Owen calls a dragon that we walk to see "The Scary Dragon" and two things that Owen calls "Stacked Pumpkins" and the "Scary Cat" in the neighbor's yard that he likes to see too. School is something that I don't really like.
Sincerely James O. D. O. Smith
P.S. I do not want to be a football player when I grow up.

Dear Roland,
Ahem. And now you do something that you love. What is it? Why don't you read Exploring the Titanic by Dr. Robert Ballard.
Sincerely, James O. P. E. Smith
P.S. You are a house.

Dear Aunt Martha,
Please come to my birthday. And Silas and Roland too. Tell them they are crocodiles, please. Please do something good. And I hope you like the guests at my birthday. Did you like the guests and Felix's birthday.
Sincerely, James O. P. O. D. O. Smith
PS When is the next time you are going out to Albion?

Questions from James

Did the bow section of the Titanic or the stern section of the Titanic sink faster?

When the bow of the Titanic sank, did it sink like this (horizontal arm) or like this (vertical arm) or like this (diagonal arm)?

Did the guns on the Bismarck fall off before it hit the bottom of the ocean?

How many of the Titanic's funnels broke off before it was underwater?

Did the Californian sink?

How many funnels did the Californian have?

Was the Lusitania a White Star Line ship?

Was the fourth funnel on the Lusitania a dummy as well?

Which ship sink faster, the Californian or the Carpathia?

Which ship did Dr. Ballard find first, the Bismarck or the Titanic?

What was the first ship that Dr. Ballard ever found?

Why didn't the hull of the Bismarck break apart like the Titanic did?

Did the USS Indianapolis roll over on its side?

How many ships did the USS Little Rock sink?

How many stories tall was the Bismarck? (vertically)

How many people survived the sinking of the Californian?

Why did the Lusitania sink so fast?

How many people were in the crow's nest of the Lusitania?

Do battleships have crow's nests?

What was the date when the Titanic's hull was launched?

Did anyone ever scuttle a White Star Line ship when it was sinking?

Did the Cunard Line or the White Star Line ship have more shipwrecks?

How much longer was the Knock Nevis than the Titanic?

Does an oil tanker need more lookouts than a passenger ship?