Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Stories Worth Retelling


One of the failings, if you could call it that, of old people is that of telling the same stories over and over. The children and grandchildren who have heard them many times may shrug them off now, but those retold stories are likely the ones to be passed down from generation to generation. That day comes when nearly everyone says to himself, “I wish I had asked Grandma or Grandpa about that! Why didn’t I?” I know why. We’re all so taken up with our own lives we rarely sit down with our elders to hear about theirs. So many things that would be of great interest to us later on go into the dim corridors of the unknown. 

Today I am reading a new biography of Queen Elizabeth II and I’m reminded of one story I wrote many years ago and have told too often ever since. You’ll get a condensed version of it here. We were living in Bellevue, Washington around the early 1980’s. I don’t remember the exact date, but Queen Elizabeth II had come to Seattle on the royal yacht, Britannia. She would be greeted at the Science Center. I was eager to see her but since there was no likelihood of seeing her up close in such a crowd I’d decided to stay home and see her on television that evening.

A sudden change of mind came when I heeded my inner angel who said, “Are you really going to not see this beautiful Princess and Queen you’ve grown up with on far sides of the world? Do you really intend to miss this opportunity, perhaps the only one you’ll ever have?” 

I had little time, but dressed and hopped into the car to cross over Lake Washington to the Science Center. I was late but found myself ushered in to a spot very close to where she would be coming in. Now the details of all this are written in that article I’d hoped to become published but never was. It would be too long to copy here but it told of that day’s event from my point of view, from my heart. After it was over I went home and wrote it out just the way I’d love to think the Queen herself might read it were it to be published in The Christian Science Monitor, an international newspaper. But the Monitor did not accept it so that did not happen.

Never mind, it was a precious remembrance for myself and took its place among the many other writings of mine all stashed away in drawers and boxes. Soon after the event I pulled it out to show to a friend who was visiting from Victoria, B.C. He enjoyed it so much he asked if he might borrow it to take home to show his wife. Of course I said yes, providing he return it.

A few months later a large envelope containing my article came back in the mail. Also in the packet I found a smaller one with a strange looking return address on it. “Buckingham Palace?” Quickly I opened it and found the writer, a secretary of Queen Elizabeth’s, was thanking our friend for sending her my article. She said how very pleased Her Majesty had been to read it! Can you imagine the pleasure this gave me? The very mission for which it was written had come through! Though the Queen had been only a few feet from me on that precious day we had not made eye contact. I was disappointed. Still, I had seen her gracious spirit shine on a little girl standing between us who had given her a hand-picked bouquet of yellow daffodils. I know that child will always remember. So will I!

When I read that letter I knew we had finally made contact, if only for the few minutes she took to read my article. All the years of following her through newspapers and news reels in the movie theater I used to wonder what it would have been like to be a princess and queen. I still do. Did she ever wonder what it would have been like to switch roles with a life of anonymity, perhaps an ordinary American girl? What a difference fate plays in our lives!

Somewhere in a drawer or box lies that article and the precious envelope with the message from Buckingham Palace. They give poignant proof of a day I shall never forget and tell a story I shall ever feel is worth retelling.

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