Before twitter there were fan letters: Dear Mr. Redford

November 12, 1973 Dear Bob  Mr. Redford,I just had to write to tell you how hot and sexy talented, I think you are.  Laura and I bickered over who was more desirable — Robert Redford or Clint Eastwood — with as much fervor as we girls once debated who our favorite Beatle was, Paul or John, George or Ringo. Laura's mother, tiny Corky, curled up in her easy chair with a ciggie and a cup of tea, pronounced both actors 'tall drinks of water'. This was so long before  water became such a desirable commodity that we actually had to buy it by the bottle, back in the seventies when water was still free even in the once desert lands of Los Angeles, that I never quite understood the praise. But yes, Redford could put his shoes under my bed any time, as our mothers might have said, mostly about men whose paths they would likely never cross. I had it so bad for Robert Redford after seeing The Way We Were ; wishing I were Barbara Streisand with her impossibly long eleg
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Queen Me



Updated 1/5/2018
With the popularity of The Crown, seasons 1 & 2 streaming on Netflix, I wanted to share my thoughts on Princess Elizabeth.

 I haven’t lived in England for years and years. And years. Basically a very long time. The kind of time you cough into your hand over, trying to hide the exact humungous number of years. Long enough ago that any reasonable person could be forgiven for calling me an American. But beware, should you say anything negative about the UK or Queen Elizabeth, my British roots will start showing and my British blood will start boiling. I’ll start flapping my British passport in the air, and put on my best True Brit voice. While I’m very much an American, I’m British by birth, born in 1953, in —as I’m fond of saying and saying—a scene right out of Call the Midwife. I’ve got a thing for the Queen from being born so close to her coronation day that my parents gave me Elizabeth for my middle name. Just a few days shy of being named Elizabeth Simone instead of the other way around. A few days days shy of being a Liz versus a Sim. Liz, Lizzie. I don’t mind the sound of that.

Growing up in Canada, the Queen's portrait was centered above the blackboard in my elementary school classrooms. I went to Princess Elizabeth Middle School in Niagara Falls, built in 1953 pre-Coronation day: it’s where I went through puberty, where I went to my first school dances, where I met Laura, one of my best friends to this very day. 
It was 1968, when we moved away, leaving Canada behind for the good ‘ol US of A. Thousands of young American men were coming to Canada and here we were going away. We left the Queen behind too, her royal portrait with its regal looking gown and crown replaced by the picture of LBJ, droopy jowls and all.
We didn’t just see him on our classroom walls, we saw him day after day on the Nightly Horror Show they called the news. I preferred the Queen.

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Sharing this with Joy Weese Moll for British Isles Friday

Comments

  1. liz young9:56 AM

    Hi Sim - I am blog-hopping from the A-Z and find another expat! I was born in Australia but lived in England from the age of two, so I'm English to all intents and purposes, so that is where we are trying to return to from Tenerife.
    I also have a son living in Ontario, and my name is Elizabeth. I'm known as Lizy or liz.
    Good luck with the rest of the A-Z

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  2. B~Natrelle12:28 PM

    Hello there.
    I'm a British expat living in the US for fifteen years now. I had to laugh as I was just watching an episode of Call The Midwife. I was really upset too when my sister told me on the phone I had an American accent...no I cried..cannot be! I think she was just trying to wind me up...knowing how much I dislike the American drawl (lol).
    Thanks for sharing.

    Entrepreneurial Goddess

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  3. Arlee Bird9:40 PM

    I always liked those early portraits of the Queen. When I collected stamps I had so many stamps with this portrait on them. Ah, the British Empire where the sun never set.

    I chose Elizabeth as the middle name for my middle daughter.

    Arlee Bird
    A to Z Challenge Co-host
    Tossing It Out

    ReplyDelete
  4. Unknown11:08 AM

    I have a friend whose mom is British, been here for years and refuses to trade her green card for citizenship cuz she loves her country so much. It's nice to see people holding on to their cultural heritage.

    Gwen
    Fulfilling Dreams

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  5. Unknown11:23 AM

    amazing one.

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  6. Sean @ His And Her Hobbies4:25 PM

    I miss the portraits of the Queen as well. I grew up in Australia and moved to the U.S at 22. I think a lot of us expats still love the queen no matter how long we have been out of the U.K or its commonwealth nations.

    Sean at His and Her Hobbies

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sim Carter9:53 AM

    Appreciate all the comments! Had a glitch, didn’t know you were all here!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Joy4:01 PM

    I always get a kick out of spotting the Queen's portrait in British TV shows and movies. I don't remember presidential portraits as a big part of my childhood. Except Washington. I think I was in a few classrooms where he was on display.

    ReplyDelete

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