Some people express sadness, even indignation that their legendary steam liner Queen Mary is tied up at a dock in Long Beach, California, used as a hotel, convention center, and tourist attraction. This has been so for decades. Her last voyage was in 1967. To these people, I would simply remind them that every single one of those great ships of that era were scrapped. They might be part of an old Toyota today, or even a tin of vegetables. When you look at it that way, is it not better that you can still go see the Queen and walk her teak decks and lean on her rail, look up at her lifeboats, walk through her cabins and passageways, stand in her wheelhouse, stare in awe at her huge engines, and experience that huge gorgeous art-deco ballroom with the ceiling stretching up forever? You can almost hear the band playing. Except you are almost alone instead of sharing her with 2000 other passengers. There are other tourists, but the Queen is huge. To these complainers I would also say: Remember that the Queen is still afloat in the ocean as she was meant to be, as she should be. Stop complaining and go visit her. I think she misses her British compatriots as much as you are nostalgic for her.
Photos taken by Relax Max
I agree.. Do people even know what happens to a ship when it scrapped?
ReplyDeleteWell let me tell you it isnt pretty .. the ship is crashed onto the beach of the Mumbai (Bombay) Ship graveyard where it is dissassembled to a bare nothingness in almost no time.. Never to be seen again...
And the process is not without its own horrors(not elaborating on this..)!
I just think that people are uneducated in their whining as a general rule of thumb..
(See why school is important?)
I have never seen pictures of the ship before. Thanks for that.
ReplyDeleteHave you included schmozzle. The Australian Opposition Leader used that today.
You have made good progress with your blog. Congratulation.
@BecauseIcan -Pyuck. Where is that where they do this terrible thing? Bombay? I would not like to see that! Old passenger liners are sort of a hobby with me. Unfortunately, all I can do for most of them is look at pictures. Thanks.
ReplyDelete@Colin -I am honored by your visit, sir! It is indeed a pleasure to explore the queen. There were only a few other people there when I went in the middle of the week. And, believe me, I explored her from her engines to her wheelhouse. Magnificent! Don't be a stranger. Schmozzle? That's one I must now do some research on. Back to Australia I go!
Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI shan't comment again on the previous post because there are 13 comments which makes it nicely symmetrical. and you know I like that.
ReplyDeleteI love the pictures Max. I hope you enjoyed yourself. Did you know T.A.P.S. went there to see if it was haunted?
ReplyDelete@ a.- Why, thanks for the compliment! Max thinks a. is kinda cute, too! And Max has made due note that a. seems to appreciate--even be impressed with--symmetry...and that she apparently laughs in the face of old-fashioned prudent American superstitions. :)
ReplyDelete@ ettarose -The Queen is indeed haunted, ettarose. Haunted by the emergency "present" that a little puppy dog left under a chair in her engine room.
No, Max is not much on television. The fact that you know this obscure Taps factoid tells me a lot about why ettarose is never around when she is needed. :)
April 20, 2008 8:17 AM
I am rather impressed with your photographic skills, you have showed that your not all mouth and no trousers on this department.
ReplyDeleteBy an astonishing coincidence, and to my considerable sorrow, I have just this moment received an email from the WOOBAM-R folks that my "World's Longest Blog Post" record no longer stands. How brief was that?
ReplyDeleteThe World Organization Of Blogging Awards and Meme Regulation (WOOBAM-R) now officially recognizes Linda's April 17 Post, cleverly entitled "Thursday Things" as being the world's longest. It certainly looks like her reign will be a long one. Congratualtions, oh Mighty Red One! Max secretly knew you could do it.
Oh, well. At least the award is still in the family!
I sneaked out of my gala affair to stop by and be sure that you are behaving as well as can be expected, considering. Despite your pontification regarding your awards, et al, the pictures are regal.
ReplyDeleteBack out again, I am being beckoned.
I hate to tell you this Max but that "Thursday Thing" post is nowhere near one of my longest - just ask Claire and she'll tell you that I couldn't write a short post if my life depended on it! Therefore, I think that your post still stands as being the record holder for the longest - congrats!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I have actually been to the Queen Mary myself and even watched the fireworks on the 4th of July in 1992 from her decks. Never had the opportunity to stay overnight there, though, as I was but a poor Navy wife at the time and couldn't afford it. Come to think of it, even though I'm no longer a poor Navy wife, I'm still too poor to even think about staying there!
Nice post Max. I agree with you by the way. I would much rather have her kept in one piece for people to enjoy, than recycled.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos too.
@Claire-Thank you. That means a lot coming from such an accomplished photographer as yourself. :)
ReplyDelete@Debbie-I'm glad you were pleased with the photos. Was I behaving, do you think? :)
@Linda-Just kidding you about the length of your posts sometimes. But you know how interesting I think they are. An Air Force Girl goes awol and marries a navy guy? :)
@Caroline-So true--and so worth it in this instance. Thank you for the compliment. :)
The Queen? Is this a reference to the boat -- or the author?
ReplyDelete@Canucklehead-Max has decided the flamewars are over. I will not be provoked. They are too time-consuming and non-productive. They are over, my friend. And the Queen is not a "boat". She carries boats, but she Herself is a ship. A great ship. :)
ReplyDelete