The Queen

It has been interesting to watch the Queen of England’s Platinum Anniversary Celebration. Seventy years in office-the longest reign of any monarch in the long long history of Merry Olde England. Yes, the Brits do celebrations well. The uniforms, the formations, the military equipment from ancient to modern — it all has deep meaning. None in the world do it better!

Queen Elizabeth’s inauguration I also remember. It was 1952 and I was just starting high school. No television in our household that day and age but we had the big screen in the movie theatre, and it was portrayed in bold color before the regular film began. Actually, the movie news bulletins, radio and newspaper was how we received the happenings of the world around us. Perhaps the young queen’s inauguration was of special interest to our family as she is about the same age as my eldest sister Margaret. It was easy comparing the two, one becoming queen while watching the behavior of a beloved sibling preparing for a very successful life. So young and stepping into such a yoke of responsibility and yet the beloved monarch has done it well.

Now the Royal family, like families everywhere, has a host of characters some of which one can admire and some succeed at being worthless. Nothing is kept private and always being in public would be a burden in life. Yet we see the same in our own first families, the Biden’s, the Bush’s and the Kennedy’s. Every foible is exposed, nothing hidden. It would be a tough way to live. Still, I think that the royals are well compensated even at a great tax burden for all the people in Britain. Their choice.

The ongoing investigation into the school shooting in Texas is looking like it wasn’t handled well by the policeman in charge. Gunshot wounds left untreated for over an hour evidently left too many children to die that probably could have been saved if quicker action could have been taken. Sure it takes a brave person to rush in against an armed assassin but we the public assume that is the role of the police in this type of crisis. I pray that something similar doesn’t happen in one of our own communities.

Personally, I am always a bit frustrated to see a sign “Gun Free Zone” when entering a building. We have them here at our hospital, the clinics and schools. I see it as an indication of a place for a criminal-minded person to enter a safe zone to do his sordid business. We also have laws in this country that say that it is illegal to kill another person but obviously a disturbed person with murder on his/her mind ignores that law also. It was in a “safe zone” in Uvalde where the school children were killed and in the hospital complex in Tulsa where my son-in-law works. Thankfully Wiley was at home when the dissatisfied patient entered and shot his surgeon and three others.

Somehow this old gentleman is not happy with the current administration’s move to save the planet. Eliminate carbon in our atmosphere by creating unreasonable prices for fossil fuels. Never mind that carbon is part of the food for life for every plant that grows—our food supply. Back when Princess Elizabeth was inaugurated as Queen the price of automobile gas was around nineteen cents. Airplane fuel, 80 Octane, as I remember was something like 37 cents per gallon. Today the price we are paying at the pump is around $4.50 per gallon and aviation fuel locally is $7 per gallon. All for the unrealistic dream of saving the planet. Somehow the elites in charge have to be replaced. Their ill-conceived dreams causing inflation, high-priced petroleum produces and degradation of public safety is making this a tough place to live and prosper especially in our big cities. Yes, I know that I am preaching to the choir.

Gas prices aside we who live in Southwestern Nebraska are living the good life. In McCook the streets are good. The utility services are all reliable and well maintained. The public safety departments are doing an excellent job. Our hospital and medical services meet all expectations. A host of volunteers do events like the upcoming Buffalo Commons Storytelling Festival and for we who love old cars Cruisin’ on the Bricks is in our near future. County Fair time is not far off. Other communities around are as fortunate and wonderful places to live.

Now if it would rain a little more reliably and leave out the hail and tornadoes things would be almost perfect.

That is how I really saw it.

Dick Trail