Have I told y’all I’m royalty? I hope not, because it’s bullshit. But. Have I told you that I grew up on a manor? Well, that’s also kinda bullshit. But! I did grow up across the street from Queen Elizabeth. Fact. And we had conversations on the regular. Also fact.
Okay, but fo’ real, yo. I grew up on the South Side. That’s another fact, bitches. And Queen Elizabeth was my homegirl. Put that in your factpipe and smoke it. (Please don’t smoke Queen Elizabeth. That would be weird. And grody. And also kinda cannibalistic. And probably racist. And you know who likes cannibalistic racists? Nobody.)
SOUTH SIDE REPRESENT
I should probably stop vomiting crazy at you and get to the point, hm? Fine. Fuddy duddy. (Warning: I may have over-caffeinated just prior to writing this post. And since my coworkers already consider me the resident loony, I thought I’d take out my hyper on you instead of them.) (You’re welcome.) (Say thank you, damnit. It’s impolite to be ungrateful around the crazies.) (Why isn’t it ingrateful? I mean it’s “ingrate” not “ungrate,” hello.)
And now, boys and girls, for a rare happy tale from childhood. Grab your milk and cookies and gather round. Or your bong and soda. I’ll take the bong and cookies for $200, Alex. Anyway. Gather round, peoplleaneous.
Where was I? Oh yeah, I grew up on the South Side, in the ghetto. That’s not really relevant, except to give you a feel for the place. And our landlord was a total slum lord piece of shit. But this post isn’t about him, even though he was a giant walking turd. (Did you picture it? I hope you did, cuz that’s some funny shit. Literally.) The little ramshackle two-bedroom single family rental was situated immediately behind a nursing home/assisted living facility, “Southside Manor” or some shit. (See? I fucking told you I lived on the manor. Or at least manor-adjacent.)
There was this tiny strip of wannabe road stretching between our ditch and theirs. (Seriously, it was a sad little road. Kids flying into ditches when cars tried to go both directions at once. That may be an exaggeration. But only because kids don’t have wings. Unless they chug Redbull. Yeah.)
After school, we’d go outside. I didn’t do very well outside. I was a total bookwormy homebody. I just wanted to hide in some quiet corner and read. But when mom was home, she didn’t like having us inside. Underfoot. Talking. Needing. Being. The sister would fairly readily find something to occupy her time. As for me? I’d just kinda…stand there…bored and confused and wanting to go back inside and hide. Being, admittedly, really sad and also kinda pathetic. Shifting my weight from one foot to the other. Looking around. Totally out-of-place and not really knowing how to be a kid. Like, at all. (Unless I was making the sister eat a worm or something. That was kidlike. And disgusting. And fun. Ooo new word: fungusting! Except that sounds like you’re trying to suck fungus up a dirtbuster. Whatever. Let’s see you do better. Hmph.)
It was on a day such as this that I met Queen Elizabeth. There I was, shifting my weight back and forth, this side of the ditch. Just kinda staring. At nothing. At everything. At the road. At my crush’s house – is Mario home yet? At the nursing home. And here she came. Little did I know I was about to become a princess and marry a handsome prince who would whisk me away from every…wait. That’s definitely not true. Where was I?
All Hail the Queen!
Oh yes, there I am: standing on the edge of the ditch, facing the road and the back of the nursing home. And here she came. There were no trumpets, no royal cavalcade, no retinue. She was quite demure and down to earth. And she was beautiful. This plump woman in her late forties (that’s the best estimate I can give, looking back now) with warm brown skin and billowing skirts. But what she wore better than anything was that huge, friendly smile. She grinned and waved, waved and grinned, free hand tugging at her skirts.
“Hey, y’all! I’m not supposed to talk to strangers. So what’s your names?,” she called. The sister came rushing over, looking between me and our new friend. None of us crossing the street.
We volleyed our names across, and she volleyed back:
“Well, I am Queen Elizabeth, and you suppose ta bow.”
I can still feel the grin spreading across my face. “You mean, THE Queen Elizabeth? Of England?”
“Yes, the Queen Elizabeth. I had to sell my castle, but that’s okay!”
“It’s nice to meet you, Queen Elizabeth!” I bowed and smacked my sister on the arm, whispering furiously for her to bow, too. “But she’s NOT a queen…is she?” To which I replied, “Of course she is.” “How do you know?,” my sister asked.
“Because she said so.”
Queen Elizabeth was so tickled when we bowed. She even did that thing where you hold a hand over your mouth to giggle. Then she told us she wasn’t allowed to cross the street, but honey she had that royal wave down pat. So we stood there, on opposite sides of the road..of life..and waved regally to each other and taking turns bowing and curtsying.
After a short while, one of her guards (an orderly) would come out and take her by the elbow. “Now, Queen Elizabeth, you know you ain’t supposed to be out here.” And Queen Elizabeth would say something about having to greet her subjects. I don’t remember much about the orderlies, except they seemed nice. Frustrated but friendly. We’d wave goodbye, with the royal wave of course.
And suddenly, I found myself looking forward to the first few minutes outside after school. I wanted needed to see Queen Elizabeth. She would ask about my day, and I would ask about hers. Sometimes she would complain that people weren’t letting the Queen eat what she wanted or watch what she wanted.
“But Queens are supposed to make the rules,” she’d lament.
And sometimes I would complain, too, about someone making fun of me at school. And she would say nice things to me, that I was pretty or sweet or smart.
“Stay in school,” she’d admonish. “Be a good girl.”
She was always smiling. Always. Those pearly whites exposed in a giant happy grin.
One day we said something at the same time, and I laughed and called over: “Pinch, poke, you owe me a coke!” Oh my goodness, that threw her into a tizzy. “What?! What happened?! Oh no. Oh no.” So I explained to her what the little saying meant and told her I wasn’t serious. She was quite perplexed, so I tried really hard to convince her that it was just in fun. It didn’t really mean anything. But the next day, out she came, holding her skirt in one hand and a can of Cherry Coke in the other. She couldn’t even wave; that’s how important it was.
“Queens always keep their promises! But…I’m sorry I couldn’t get two. They wouldn’t let me get two. But y’all can share!”
Boy, did I feel guilty. I tried to protest, but she started getting upset. So I knew her feelings would be hurt if I didn’t accept.
None of us was supposed to cross the street. And I knew mom wouldn’t approve of me talking to the woman at all – I always worried about her catching us. But Queen Elizabeth wouldn’t dare consider breaking the rules, so I darted across the street for the soda. “Now Queen Elizabeth doesn’t owe you anymore!” Oh, that grin. How infectious it was. I remember she touched my hand. Just a fleeting touch, perhaps accidental, perhaps not. But I remember. (And I also don’t remember saying “pinch poke, you owe me a coke” after that. I didn’t want anyone feeling obligated. It made me sad that Queen Elizabeth might have thought she was in trouble.)
I loved her, best I could. I loved her. And I thought about her a lot.
One day, Queen Elizabeth stopped coming outside. I started to worry, and I tried to explain to mom that I needed to check on Queen Elizabeth. She had unkind words to say about a woman she’d never met. Because of the color of her skin. Because of her mental illness. I begged. I pleaded. Please let me check on her. Or maybe you can check on her for me! But my pleas fell on deaf ears. I don’t know if they’d put my friend on lockdown so she’d stop going outside, but I imagined the worst.
I missed Queen Elizabeth so much. And I cried and mourned her absence for a long time. More than anything, I hope she knew she was loved. Truly loved. I’ll never forget her. And I wish I could fashion her a crown and tell her,
You may not be the Queen Elizabeth, but you’ll always be my Queen Elizabeth. And I hope that was enough.
zombies like cannibalistic racists. don’t you watch TWD?
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No I do not! I stopped watching somewhere in the middle of them COMPLETELY assassinating Andrea’s character. HMPH!
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I stopped watching too!!
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Woo! Finally someone’s with me on this. 😀
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I’m so glad I found another. When I tell people I don’t watch anymore, they look at me like I’m mentally disabled. I don’t like it, call me crazy all you want!!
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I know!! Like we’re launching a personal attack on them by not watching! Dude, I PROMISE I’m perfectly fine and will in no way hinder your viewing experience. TWD show fans proselytize more than religious people do. I’m going to TWD hell for not watching!
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Ugh no kidding. If you don’t worship Darryl you’re a WD heathen!
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Oh man, Darryl’s a badass and all. But what the fuck is with that HAIR. There’s this chick at work whose hair looks just like that. I wanna toss her some shampoo, scissors and a brush. oooo that was mean. But true…so no takebacksies.
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OK, for a man it is barely forgivable. No chick should have Darryl hair. No chick. For shame.
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I’m sayin’! And she’s a Darryl FANATIC. I bet it’s on purpose……
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Does she think Darryl will think it’s hot she’s trying to be his twin? I think not. *shudders*
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HA! I swear I typed *shudders* then backspaced. I love it! 😀
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LOL!! It’s like I’m talking to myself when I “talk” with you!!
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Oh. Em. Gee. I know, right? 😀
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Seriously!!
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So crazy Stephellaneous.
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Thanks..I think… 😀
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Aww… I think you should fashion a crown anyway and wear it in her honour 🙂
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Yay! 😀
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God save!! :0)
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Mental illness is a muthafucka! I assume her royal Highness,was a sufferer?
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I can only assume, myself. She genuinely believed she was The Queen Elizabeth. She had a positive impact on my life, but it’s also bittersweet…because I know she was put away there in that home…either because she didn’t have any family or they couldn’t handle her or they didn’t want her. I hope..I really hope she wasn’t sad.
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Yeah.. I’ve known so many mental health patients including my sister.. The funny thing is, is how you accommodated her delusion.. You were a different kind of child!! I don’t know if I was so kind as a child!
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It may have been different had I lived with her. But to me, she was this delightful lady across the street who was convinced she was Queen Elizabeth. No way could I risk hurting her feelings. It would have broken my heart!
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Awww!
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How sweet!!! I bet you made her life.
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Thank you so much…I really hope so. She made mine. 🙂
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This avante garde writing style is just extraterrestrial. Keep up the good work! #inspired
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I am flattered and honored by your words. Thank you! 🙂
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Enjoyed reading this…Great fun….. 😉
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Yay, thank you!! 🙂
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“Please don’t smoke Queen Elizabeth. That would be weird. And grody.” ROFL! You are hilarious and a great writer. Thanks for the funny story. 😂
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You’ve made my afternoon so much brighter! Thank you!!! 😀
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How lovely that you cared – I bet very few people made her happy like you did,
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Thank you for that.. 🙂
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Beautiful tale. How fortunate she was to meet a fan like you. *fanfare*
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Thank you so much 🙂
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I should add….I feel the fortunate one. 🙂
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What a funny and touching story! It’s so sweet that she bought you a cherry coke, and even sweeter that you and your sister indulged her delusion without making fun of her (as other kids might have done). As Kerry said, it’s lovely that you cared about her.
What’s all this hype around TWD – is that the latest thing? I looked it up and discovered what it stands for. (I don’t have a TV.)
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Thank you! It would have broken my heart to even consider making fun of her. She brightened my days…hell, my life. Cuz I’m still sitting here thinking about her all these years later.
Oh yeah. TWD is bigtime! I was a big fan of the comic books, and I knew there would be differences in the show. But they went too far for me. I got so mad I stopped watching AND reading. 😀
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Aw this is a great story. I had one of those cheesy smiles the entire time I was reading. Plus, your writing style is hilarious. It gives me the feeling that hanging out with you and having an every day conversation would be entertaining lol.
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What an awesome thing to say – thank you so so much! 😀
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Let me start by saying first time here, so I lol. Trying to calm down form the high of reading your post. It was a rollercoaster ride. I enjoyed myself too much. And I do wish ‘queen Elizabeth’ was/ is okay where ever she Is. And I am glad you hot a distraction and a friend from starting at poor marios house and probably wearing off the concrete by your side of the ditch lol.
Thank you for a great read.
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Hahaha! I love it – thank you so much. And it’s nice to meet you! 🙂
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I love it…put a smile back on my face….:)
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Yay! I’m superglad! 🙂
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🙂
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I was laughing hysterically…and then I was crying. I would normally blame this on pregnancy hormones from hell. Instead I am deciding to blame this on your wonderfully written post! Thank you for sharing!
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Hehe thank you so much for your kind words! I’m glad you got some laughs out of it!!!! That makes me so happy! 🙂
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