november 6, 2016

posted in: photography | 0

“Use your voice for kindness, your ears for compassion,
your hands for charity, your mind for truth, and your heart for love.”
~ Unknown

 

the old days
the old days 

 

I wanted to tour the Queen Mary when I was in Long Beach, but the price was too steep for my taste. We chose to survey the outside instead, shown here alongside a Russian sub. NetFlix just released their latest series, The Crown, in which Queen Mary – the real Queen Mary, not the ship – has a starring role… except when the Duke of Windsor (who abdicated the crown) returned from America for his brother, King George’s, funeral. He did so in a brief scene on the Queen Mary. Anyway, as I continued to process photos from my California trip I came across this photo just as Queen Mary – the real Queen Mary, not the ship – made her appearance on my screen. Creepy timing! Long fascinated by the British Monarchy, I find the series compelling. The luxury liner Queen Mary has an equally compelling story. Construction started in Scotland in the 1930’s, suffering a setback caused by the Depression, but finally setting sail in 1936. Along came WWII, and she was painted grey, moving from luxury liner to troop transport, until after the war when she returned to ferrying passengers across the Atlantic. By 1965, sailing had been replaced by air travel, and in 1967, the Queen Mary was brought to Long Beach where she has been a hotel ever since. They say she’s quite haunted. They even offer haunted tours. Next time I go back, I’m spending a night there for sure. As for that Russian sub, The Scorpion, it’s been docked alongside the Queen Mary since 1998 for no other reason than convenience, apparently. It wasn’t captured by the US or anybody else. It was just decommissioned after the fall of the USSR and somehow made it’s way to Long Beach. By the looks of it, it could use a spit-shine. I will not be spending a night there.

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