2003-06-25 - 9:49 p.m.
On my last day in London (was that really only a week and a half ago) I unwittingly stumbled into the Queen's birthday celebration. I was walking through the park (i forget which one now), on my way to walk by Buckingham Palace when I saw police, horses and crowds of people. And a band. I stood on tip toes, peering over the tourists and families out to see the parade of gaurds through the park, down the Mall to the palace. A band on horseback, and then bagpipes!
"Ah ha," I thought, "The Scottish Highland Soldiers, in cultural studies 1 Amit told us they became the royalty's most loyal gaurds, after England colonized Scotland." Then I remembered, "Wait, they're her majesty's personal gaurds!" And there she was- a little old lady in an open top carage in a blue hat- the Queen. I think the concept of royalty is absolutely ridiculous, but for some reason it really choked me up- maybe it's knowing that you are witness to someone with that much history. Of course, everyone is witness to so much history, but perhaps people who are seen as "historical figures" become representations of "history" in our minds.
And now... I am 8,000 miles away from England in Portland, Oregon. I am riding a very heavy vintage Schwinn roadbike around town. It has blue sparkely grip tape on the handle bars and I have outfitted it with an "I love my bike" bell. It feels like a good pace at which to take the summer.
