A cat may look at a king...

 

The Prisoner has his own throne, from which, if he were so inclined, he could watch the new King of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland on the telly.

The first printed version of the idiom a cat may look at a king was published in 1562, in The Proverbs And Epigrams Of John Heywood, “What, a cat may look on a king, ye know!” 

Link to the Grammarist entry, quoted above.

Anyway, the brain is full of random thoughts these days.  

• I got the e-mail from the health department to make my appointment for the "new" booster for Covid-19.  I scheduled it for Friday afternoon, after the school day, at one of the local high schools.

I had not been to that high school in quite some time, but it was pretty obvious where to go, between the signs and the other "old folks in masks" filing in and out.  It went smoothly and quickly.  These are getting to be pretty routine.  It had been five months since my second booster, so I'm hoping this is a good interval, and also hoping that it morphs into a "once a year" thing like the flu shot, which I did not get at the same time.  

• The last weekend for kayak rentals is this coming one.  My friend Geri and I are plotting a Sunday morning outing on the water.  I hope I'm recovered enough from the shot.

• Discussion with kid sis on Wednesday's walk on two topics - one, what a proper curtsy is (head not bowed, knees bent... if I can do a lunge, I should be able to do a curtsy).  I'm not there, but I've been practicing in front of the TV.

This had to do with watching the live feeds of the queue of people paying their respects to Queen Elizabeth.  I have been impressed with the diversity of both individual people, and how they show their respect.  I have seen so many combinations of gestures.  One woman, walking with two poles through the whole line, put her poles together, steadied herself on the arm of her escort, and dropped a deep and perfect curtsy.  Curtseys, crosses between a bow and a curtsy... deep bows, bowed heads, the namaste hand gesture, many people crossing themselves, some blowing a kiss toward the coffin, tears wiped away... and silence... respectful silence through it all.  The signal for changing the guards was clearly heard, every 15 minutes.  

I had an irreverent thought at a recent change, when a much shorter guard replaced his/her taller counterpart... and a line from Star Wars popped into my head... "a little short for a storm trooper, aren't you?"  

I sought out and found YouTube channels that allowed me to watch coverage of the National Mourning in the UK without talking heads commenting over it.  I have been fascinated by the differences in uniform, music, and traditions between Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England.  Seeing the drums and brass wrapped in black for the funeral marches in London, and appreciating the choice of pieces (Beethoven, Mendelsohn)... this is the culture in which I was raised, and it seems right.  The Scottish also seems right, with the bagpipes and the royal archers carrying their longbows.  

The Welsh memorial service, delivered in their national language Friday morning was poetic. I could follow along because the name "Solomon" was not translated, and made it obvious the Bible passage it was based on. The rhythm of the wording and the repetition, along with my own familiarity with Solomon's prayer on inheriting the crown from his father David filled in what I lacked in the specific language.

• Second topic of discussion - our own reactions to the book, White Fragility, that we're both reading, and how we observe what we read in the world around us, or in our own history.

Reading this book and thinking about it as I watch the pomp and circumstance surrounding the period of mourning, and also catching some of the reportage of the royal family "issues" had me questioning my own reactions, and also coming to the defense of tradition at the same time.

I started being conscious of and appreciating what I've been reading.  This mourning period is white heritage, it's not colorless or lacking in racial/ethnic roots, and there's some negatives associated with it, as well as the positives.  The immense wealth of the royals hits home:  Balmoral estate is 50,000 acres.  And it is only ONE of many... the "summer" getaway.    

• Big Brother has got down to the final four, and as usually happens, game play becomes slower.  But this has been an amazing season, very unpredictable.  That's generally caused by both good and bad game play!  It will be but a memory in a couple of weeks.

Well, that about covers the week as it was.  Laundry, grocery shopping, one workout with the trainer (he canceled Thursday due to a track meet schedule change)... and the weather not feeling at all like September... it's been hot... pretty much completes the picture of my life.

Here's hoping you all are well, and getting done what needs doing in your own lives, all while remembering to gently take care of yourselves!

Life is good.  Even at times when it can be sad.  Spark on!

🔥✨💖