What was Queen Elizabeth II thinking when she wiped away that tear?
Our visit to a famous British ship, a crumbling Soviet spa, and a hilarious radio advertisement
Dear Mermaids, Mermen, and all murmurs in-between:
Today we’ll walk the decks of a famous ship, ruminate on fortunes won and lost, take a video peek inside some old Soviet ruins, and… just in case you think I’m always serious… enjoy a laugh!
Be sure you stay to the end for the funny part, but for now, I want to share what I saw…
From the Balcony
Bruce Springsteen’s song “Glory Days” may seem an odd choice for background music while touring a royal yacht, but there it was, playing in my head as I walked the decks of the great ship.
I had a friend was a big baseball player
Back in high school
He could throw that speedball by you
Make you look like a fool boy
Saw him the other night at this roadside bar
I was walking in, he was walking out
We went back inside sat down had a few drinks
But all he kept talking about was
Glory days
The HMS Britannia served the United Kingdom’s Royal Family for 43 years, from 1952 to 1997, sailing more than one million nautical miles to 600 ports in 135 countries. It’s a museum in Edinburgh, Scotland, now.
You can tour the boat from stem to stern, which Fabi and I did just a few days ago. I thought Fabi might especially enjoy the tour, considering how many years she spent working on luxury motor yachts, although ones only half the size of Britannia.
The boat is, as you might expect for British royal service, tastefully luxurious, not gaudy, but comfortable, like a floating summer home, which is what the late Queen Elizabeth II wanted when, as a young woman in 1952, she directed its decor. The walls are covered with photographs of her late Majesty and the Duke entertaining the likes of Bill and Hillary Clinton, Nelson Mandela, and of the Royal Family playing volleyball on the ship’s decks when Princes Harry and William were just lads.
As a former mechanical engineer, the ship’s engine room was of particular interest to me. It was spotless — not a drop of oil was to be seen. Did the sailors wear white gloves? They could have!
It was, however, another feature of the yacht that caught my eye — a large photograph of Queen Elizabeth II wiping away a tear at Britannia’s decommissioning ceremony in 1997. The picture revealed a rare moment of emotion for a people known for keeping a stiff upper lip. That’s when Springsteen’s song began to play in my head.
I can imagine what the Queen was thinking. She was recalling more than happy days on the yacht when she was young and beautiful, before the feuds, divorces, and drama of royal life, before Princess Diana’s tragic death and suspicions of murder. Consciously or not, she was remembering her glorious British Empire.
Remember when our Navy was the envy of the world? Remember when we were Great Britain, an empire with vassals all around the globe? Remember when the cannons roared at our arrival and every knee bowed? Remember how we all pulled together during the Great War?
No wonder her late Majesty was wiping away a tear.
It’s hard for me, as an American whose country is presently a superpower (and has been all my 69 years) to imagine what it must feel like to “remember when we were great.”
One senses the trappings of empire wherever one goes in the United Kingdom: stunning castles, brilliantly festooned military guards, rousing martial music, and glass vaults glittering with crown jewels. The reminders are everywhere. They loudly say: We were, we are, great.
The last time I saw remnants of greatness like that was 10,000 miles away, off the beaten track, in Tskaltubo, Georgia. There was no museum, no crowds, no turnstile taking tickets. In fact, Fabi and I had to fight our way through the underbrush to find what we were looking for — the ruins of luxury health spas built by the Soviet Union.
Although the remnants were decayed, crumbling, and fallen into neglect, I could still see and feel what the USSR was trying to say when those grand spas were built in the 1960s — We are a great empire.
Watch this video for a two-minute view of the old Soviet spas.
Again, it’s hard for Americans to imagine what it feels like to look back on hundreds of years of being a great empire only to see it all wash away in a few short decades. I get a very small sense of that feeling when I look in the mirror, see my wrinkles and sagging skin, and remember when I was buff and had hair. Ouch!
So, when I listen to Russian President Putin speak and he spends half his time recounting Russian history, I try to get a sense of where he’s coming from. He’s remembering the great years of the Russian Empire, of Czars and horses, of the glorious Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774 that gave Russia control of the Crimea Penninsula, and of the mighty Red Army that defeated Nazi fascism in WWII. He’s wiping away a tear. Whether he knows it or not, he’s got Springsteen’s “Glory Days” playing in his head.
Well there's a girl that lives up the block
Back in school she could turn all the boy's heads
Sometimes on a friday i'll stop by
And have a few drinks after she put her kids to bed
Her and her husband bobby well they split up
I guess it's two years gone by now
We just sit around talking about the old times,
She says when she feels like crying
She starts laughing thinking about
Glory days
Does Putin want to restore the Russian Empire? I’m sure he does, but that does not necessarily mean he wants to invade Poland. More likely, he wants respect for his country, its long history, and its accomplishments. I suspect he’d like people to remember the 10 million Soviet soldiers who died fighting the Nazis, and how his people suffered so terribly during the “Times of Trouble” when at least a third of Russia’s population was wiped out in just 15 years.
I’m sure he’d like to see those old Soviet spas restored so that one day, as many Americans will tour them (for a fee!) as they do the castles and yachts of the United Kingdom.
No one wants to be told, “You might have been a something once, but you’re a nothing now. You’re a has-been, a relic. It’s time for you to crawl off and die somewhere under a rock.” All of us want to be remembered for our greatest achievements, for what we accomplished, and for who we were.
It takes exceptional courage to let go of meaningful things, and few are those who do so. One of the better-known is Michael Landy, the British artist who systematically destroyed all 7,227 of his personal possessions, including his Saab car and his valuable artworks. Landy said it was like watching his own funeral.
Tibetan Buddhist monks, particularly those from the Gelug tradition, painstakingly create elaborate mandalas from colored sand, sometimes grain by grain over days and weeks, and then destroy their creations as a way of emphasizing the impermanence of things.
“We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.”
Joseph Campbell
But we do hold on. It’s only human. I do it, too.
That’s what I saw from the balcony.
Something funny!
In May 2007, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited the U.S. to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Jamestown settlement in Virginia. I was working for a radio station at that time, and used the occasion of the Royal’s visit to pitch a local car repair shop.
You can hear the 60-second spot below. I perform all the voices.
That’s a Wrap!
Please let me know in the comments what you think of this essay. I would like to know! If you’d like to learn more about Russia, from a Russian, I recommend this article from the Free Press, entitled “Why Americans Don’t Understand Vladmir Putin.”
In the meantime, I’ll close with a George Harrison song about the good ole days called “When We Was Fab:”
Back then long time ago when grass was green
Woke up in a daze
Arrived like stangers in the night
Fab - long time ago when we was fab
Dang! I wish I had hair like George Harrison’s. Oh well. Glory days.
Best way to start a Saturday morning. Here’s what I enjoy about your creation - it’s very personal and at times vulnerable which makes me feel like you are an old friend. It is also fact filled in a way the strikes a chord (D minor in this case). You slip in (figuratively of course) the deep connection to Fabi that you navigate like that captain of the USS love boat that you are. The music knowledge is always pertinent, spot on, and for me and at my age (70…which btw is old) makes the reminiscing meaningful as opposed to just glory day BS. And there is a little tidbit of curated wisdom that reminds me how to open my eyes and experience the life that is arising now, not from a collection of past so-called accomplishments that over time became heroic deeds in my mind. (Sheesh!) Lastly - you are funny which of course is the main reason I read this stuff! I get to say I knew you before you became almost famous. David from El Granada (CA). PS been stuck on The Question by the Moody Blues this week - I think it is a sign that Joe Campbell’s statement is about to manifest?!?
This was exceptional, Brant, from stem to stern. I like how you repurposed material from previous presentations and sources to tell this story. It has a strong theme. I had never heard the George Harrison song or seen that video (very EOL-esque or were EOL very Harrison-esque?). It’s all fab! This starts my Saturday on a great foot! Thanks for creating and posting!