Catching Idle Butterflies

I never knew cigarettes could be THAT dangerous.

I do have something to say after all today.

First, I want you to read the top news story right now on Yahoo: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060323/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cruise_ship_fire .

Now let me start off by saying I don’t intend to minimize the death of one man and the injuries to 11 others. My intent is to comment on how the article was written, and how the writer injected her opinion on cigarettes, however subtly (or not).

The title gave it away “Cigarette Suspected in Cruise Ship Fire.”

I wonder, did they catch this little arsonist? Could the ship’s security forces determine which cigarette committed this crime? Did it jump back into a pack in an effort to blend in with all the other innocent cigarettes hanging out in people’s pockets and purses, or did it incinerate in the flames, committing suicide so as not to take responsibility for its actions?

The first sentence: “A fire apparently started by a cigarette raced through cabins on a cruise ship in the Caribbean early Thursday . . .” is poorly written. The writer again stated the cigarette itself, with no help from an irresponsible smoker, was at fault. Plus with adding “raced through cabins,” I envisioned a flaming cigarette racing through cabins.

But what important question is missing from this entire story?

Who dropped the cigarette?! Are they even looking for him or her, or will they be charging the suspected cigarette with reckless endangerment and destruction of property?