Lawrence Hall, HSG
Her Majesty the
Queen and Her Good and Faithful Bear
Okay, in his humorous novel Decline and Fall (nothing
to do with that doorstop by Gibbon) Waugh was joking about education and the
price of whisky, but let the gasoline stand. And we might have to; we can’t
afford much of it just now.
Last week I took my few gas cans to the station to fill them
up after the first round of summertime mowing. The pump stopped at $100.01. The
pump’s computer program is set for $100 for each purchase; I suppose the extra
cent was a “so there” at my expense.
Another topic of discussion at the pumps was the large dead
rat next to Pump #4. Perhaps the critter died when it saw the price of
gasoline.
But it is curious that topping off some vehicles can cost
more than a semi-automatic .556. Although our nation can be said to float on a
metaphorical sea of oil, our President is apparently begging Saudi Arabia for
more of the stuff.
And then there’s the matter of other nations sending us
infant formula because that’s another thing not being processed here.
Thus, we have lots of guns but not enough oil for our
industries or formula for our babies.
Until this week I did not know what a platinum
anniversary is. I watched only a little of the merriments, the best part being
the Queen’s tea with our dear friend Paddington Bear. Paddington is from Peru,
but his English is quite good, don’t you think?
Among the images there were pictures of H.M. when she was
Princess Elizabeth and served in the A.T.S., which was the British equivalent
of our WACS. She was a driver and
mechanic, and although one of my sources says “rare historical photos,” they
are not rare at all, just as war service was not rare among teenagers; it was mostly
by teenagers. You can drive
around the InterGossip and see pictures of HRH as a teenager changing a tire,
checking the oil, and adjusting a carburetor.
Can your kid do any of that?
Elizabeth’s father was against her serving, but teenagers
can be persistent and she got her way. Queen Elizabeth’s service means that she
is the last Second World War veteran who is a head of state.
It is still true that almost all teenagers are good and
thoughtful, and serve their communities in so many ways. They aren’t appreciated
as much as they should be; it seems the rotten ones get all the attention. We old people can do better in praising the
good kids.
Photographs of Queen Elizabeth when she was a truck
mechanic, 1945 - Rare Historical Photos
Queen Elizabeth's Surprising Military Role in World War II -
Biography
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