Friday, November 21, 2008

A Very Nice Girl

"Her Majesty's a very nice girl..." Wasn't that a line from the Beatles' charming little ditty tucked in between the tracks of the White Album? Anyway, it came back to me last night as I watched the public television special on the royal activities. A very nice old lady now. I am astounded by her vigor, and her patience with the rigors of a life that demands so much. And--readers famliar with The Buddha Diaries will be as surprised to read this as I am to write it--did I catch a fleeting response of, er, patriotism, in this skeptical old soul? Nah. Maybe just nostalgia. And a recognition of the value of ritual in our lives.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree with you Peter, ritual and habit are a vital part of our lives, we can use them to our very great advantage in our daily practice.

I'll miss Queen Elizabeth when she steps aside for Charles in a few years time, she's seems to have more common sense in her little finger than the rest of the Windsors put together.

I don't have much respect for the royal family generally, but I do have a soft spot for her.

Peter Clothier said...

Richard, you know more than I about the current crop of Windsors. I do have a soft spot for Charles, too, however. Seems to me he's had a pretty raw deal in life--something or an irony, perhaps, given all the privilege. And I do admire his pioneering spirit when it comes to green agri- and horticulture.

Anonymous said...

Legitimate royalty ended with the Stuarts! :)