--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks…" description: "\"“On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a crude little life-saving station. The building was just a hut, and there was on..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/ross-paterson-47373_black-skin_on-a-dangerous-seacoast-where-shipwrecks_608952.jpg" --- # On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur… ![“On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a crude little life-saving station. The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat. But the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea, and with no thought for themselves went out day and night tirelessly…” quote by Ross Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/ross-paterson-47373_black-skin_on-a-dangerous-seacoast-where-shipwrecks_608952.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/ross-paterson-47373_black-skin_on-a-dangerous-seacoast-where-shipwrecks_608952.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/ross-paterson-47373_black-skin_on-a-dangerous-seacoast-where-shipwrecks_608952.jpg) > ““On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a crude little life-saving station. The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat. But the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea, and with no thought for themselves went out day and night tirelessly searching for the lost. Some of those who were saved, and various others in the surrounding area, wanted to become associated with the station and give their time and money and effort for the support of its work. New boats were bought and new crews trained. The little life-saving station grew. Some of the members of the life-saving were unhappy that the building was so crude and poorly equipped. They felt that a more comfortable place should be provided as the first refuge of those saved from the sea. They replaced the emergency cots with beds and put better furniture in the enlarged building. Now the life-saving station became a popular gathering place for its members, and they decorated it as sort of a club. Fewer members were now interested in going to sea on life-saving missions, so they hired lifeboat crews to do this work. The life-saving motif still prevailed in this club's decoration, and there was a liturgical lifeboat in the room where the club initiations were held. About this time a large ship was wrecked off the coast, and the hired crews brought in boatloads of cold, wet and half-drowned people. They were dirty and sick and some had black skin and some had yellow skin. The beautiful new club was in chaos. So the property committee immediately had a shower house built outside the club where victims of shipwrecks could be cleaned up before coming inside. At the next meeting, there was a split in the club membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the club's life-saving activities as being unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal social life of the club. Some members insisted upon life-saving as their primary purpose and pointed out that they were still called a life-saving station. But they were finally voted down and told that if they wanted to save lives of all the various kinds of people who were shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own life-saving station down the coast. So they did just that. As the years went by, the new station experienced the same changes that had occurred in the old. It evolved into a club, and yet another 'spin-off' life saving station was founded. History continued to repeat itself, and if you visit the sea coast today, you will find a number of exclusive clubs along the shore. Shipwrecks are frequent in those waters, but most of the people drown.”” [Ross Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-paterson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes a small rescue station that grew into a comfortable club, losing focus on its original life‑saving mission as members prioritized comfort over duty. **In simple terms:** A rescue station became a club, forgetting its original purpose. Key Takeaway Stay true to core mission despite growth and comfort. Themes mission drift community service growth Mood reflective cautionary Type historical analytical When to use this quote - nonprofit management - volunteer groups - community centers - emergency services Key Concepts organizational behavior social responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How can organizations balance member comfort with core purpose? - What safeguards prevent mission drift? A Different Perspective Comfort and amenities can dilute purpose, leading to mission loss. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black skin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-skin/) [Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Commandments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commandments/) [Day and night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/day-and-night/) [Missions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/missions/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Social life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-life/) [Time and money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-and-money/) ## Related quotes > [“Acknowledging that my skin was, in fact, Cocoa as it is, would have destroyed their narrative about who I really was. 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I believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brother-yun/and-this-presence-of-the-spirit-will-enlighten-not-only-yellow-skin/) [Brother Yun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brother-yun/) > [Labor in the white skin can never free itself as long as labor in the black skin is branded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/labor-in-the-white-skin-can-never-free-itself-as-long-as-labor-in-the/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [To me, a philosopher who says that the distinction between human and nonhuman depends on whether you have a white or a black skin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee-2/to-me-a-philosopher-who-says-that-the-distinction-between-human-and/) [J. M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee-2/) > [There are no black conservatives. Oh, there are neoconservatives with black skin, but they lack any claim to blackness other than the biological. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-carter/there-are-no-black-conservatives-oh-there-are-neoconservatives-with/) Stephen Carter ## More by Ross Paterson > [“God uses one whom others would have passed over without a second glance. 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When arranging the different human races in tiers, from just below the angels to just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/the-irony-is-too-rich-not-to-point-out-when-arranging-the-different/) [Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/) > [My dear brother Barack Obama has a certain fear of free black men. As a young brother who grows up in a white context,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/my-dear-brother-barack-obama-has-a-certain-fear-of-free-black-men-as/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I'm fortunate I was able to have my parents show me that it's OK to be proud of my skin color. 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Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“Skin the colour of chestnuts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/skin-the-colour-of-chestnuts/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) > [The Black skin is not a badge of shame, but rather a glorious symbol of national greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-garvey/the-black-skin-is-not-a-badge-of-shame-but-rather-a-glorious-symbol/) [Marcus Garvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-garvey/) > [If you're born in America with a black skin, you're born in prison, and the masses of black people in America today are beginning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/if-you-re-born-in-america-with-a-black-skin-you-re-born-in-prison-and/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [There are no black conservatives. Oh, there are neoconservatives with black skin, but they lack any claim to blackness other than the biological. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-carter/there-are-no-black-conservatives-oh-there-are-neoconservatives-with/) Stephen Carter [Browse all 51 Black skin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-skin/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a crude little life-saving station. The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat. But the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea, and with no thought for themselves went out day and night tirelessly searching for the lost. Some of those who were saved, and various others in the surrounding area, wanted to become associated with the station and give their time and money and effort for the support of its work. New boats were bought and new crews trained. The little life-saving station grew. Some of the members of the life-saving were unhappy that the building was so crude and poorly equipped. They felt that a more comfortable place should be provided as the first refuge of those saved from the sea. They replaced the emergency cots with beds and put better furniture in the enlarged building. Now the life-saving station became a popular gathering place for its members, and they decorated it as sort of a club. Fewer members were now interested in going to sea on life-saving missions, so they hired lifeboat crews to do this work. The life-saving motif still prevailed in this club's decoration, and there was a liturgical lifeboat in the room where the club initiations were held. About this time a large ship was wrecked off the coast, and the hired crews brought in boatloads of cold, wet and half-drowned people. They were dirty and sick and some had black skin and some had yellow skin. The beautiful new club was in chaos. So the property committee immediately had a shower house built outside the club where victims of shipwrecks could be cleaned up before coming inside. At the next meeting, there was a split in the club membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the club's life-saving activities as being unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal social life of the club. Some members insisted upon life-saving as their primary purpose and pointed out that they were still called a life-saving station. But they were finally voted down and told that if they wanted to save lives of all the various kinds of people who were shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own life-saving station down the coast. So they did just that. As the years went by, the new station experienced the same changes that had occurred in the old. It evolved into a club, and yet another 'spin-off' life saving station was founded. History continued to repeat itself, and if you visit the sea coast today, you will find a number of exclusive clubs along the shore. 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