3 Things - QE2, Triplets, & Me

The death of Queen Elizabeth dominated the news yesterday and it still thick afoot today. ‘Thick afoot” is my attempt to sound like a wee English countryside river animal political pundit. You know. An otter with a pipe. A weasel in a dark suit and an appropriate tie. A crow with an Hermès scarf.

I have two responses to QE2’s passing.

One is that Queen Elizabeth has always reminded me of my mom. They look a little alike (though you might have to be my mom’s kid to see it). Those kind eyes, strong nose, quick and gentle smile. An affinity for modest clothes and behavior. That light in their eyes that suggested withheld smart-aleck remarks, though you would seldom to never hear them yourself. (Me: “I wish Leonard would dress better.” Mom: “He dresses like you.” Ouch.)

They were born in the 1920’s; they grew up in the crucible of the Depression and the War. Elizabeth learned to be a truck mechanic. My mom learned to run an offset printing press because dad was in the war. These were smart women who learned what need to be learned. They did their part

Also, this. Neither went to college. The Queen and her sister Margaret were the last of the royals to be totally educated by tutors at home. My mom, valedictorian of her high school class, was not offered the support she would have needed to go to college.

They were the best kind of worthy, responsible, loving, and enduring women who lived impossible lives with grace. They were expected to be obedient to their pasts while leading us into futures they could not have comprehended.

We should respect how little they were properly prepared for how much they were asked to do.

Dad and mom, before they married. I suspect that hat she is wearing belongs to him.  

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Queen Elizabeth reigned over the British empire. To her credit, there is a LOT less of it now that there was in 1952 when she stepped up to the throne. Also, she was a figurehead. The politics of the dissolution of the empire belongs squarely to the men, mostly old and white, who made or allowed the gains, losses, and changes. But to mourn a queen while not acknowledging the hideousness of imperialism of which she was the figurehead, is wrong. For nearly 500 centuries imperialism destroyed people and their cultures, their histories and their futures.

When we admire those old European castles and palaces, universities and libraries, let’s not be rubes. That wealth is the glittery side of the lost, dead, scarred bodies of humans torn from their own lives. Those are riches built on bones.

The above global map is from Twitter and there are lots of comments about the inaccuracies in it. But as a quick pix – those are nations, once ruled by Britain, that now celebrate independence from it. ‘Independence from Britain Day’ is the most widely celebrated holiday on earth.

When and if we honor the passing of a Queen Elizabeth, lets breath for the millions of lives lost imperialism. Let’s look at the entrenched global racism that is part and parcel of it that legacy.

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The Triplets of Belleville

Last night we watched the quirkiest movie we’ve seen in a while. The colorful DVD cover caught my attention at the library, so for the price of “free but you have to bring it back” … I brought it home. We started it expecting it might be weird or dumb. Then we both just fell in to this animated French movie.

French! It’s in French! We thought we’d selected English but honestly, the story is told visually. Watch it in French. Doesn’t make much difference.

It is one of those astonishing pieces of art that doesn’t tell you what to think or feel. It just moves along, grabs your spirit, pulls you in. It is not about someone else’s experience. Watching it is your experience.

A grandma with a club foot who is powered by love, a very fat dog with very skinny legs who is also powered by love, and a beloved young Tour de France bicyclist named Champion - are the characters you will love. Three old crones of Belleville catch frogs to survive and make music to live. They can make a beat from anything, including trash paper. Together these characters defy evil.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0286244/ 

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Yeah. The c diff came back and I got to spend another slow week mostly moseying and then another interesting evening in the ER. Only three hours this time so I guess that was a win? I’ve learned more about how to mange this disease. (Don’t take probiotics at the same time as you take antibiotics, it garfs up both meds. Why did I not know this?) I feel worlds better and for three days in a row now nothing has hurt and I have energy. Cool.