topic Re: They're Lining Up to Say Goodbye in Community Chat

They're Lining Up to Say Goodbye

golding76 — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 20:18:13 GMT

People Are Standing In A Miserable, Miles-Long Line To Say Goodbye To Queen Elizabeth (MSN.com)

Considering the hundreds of thousands expected to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II, it is a blessing that the Brits know how to queue up and, in general, respect a queue.

Re: They're Lining Up to Say Goodbye

beckyb1012 — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 20:21:53 GMT

I wish they could have done the train like they were able to do for King George VI. But I heard they were really concerned about safety for all. I was so moved all day watching President Bush's train. This is so sad.

Re: They're Lining Up to Say Goodbye

golding76 — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 05:29:09 GMT

Got a kick out of this comment from a Brit regarding the possibility of extending the queue from seven miles long to 10 miles long to accommodate the increasing number of mourners:

What happens when the queue exceeds 10 miles long? Do we form a queue for the queue? We're British, we queue. It's who we are, it's what we do.

Re: They're Lining Up to Say Goodbye

patbz — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 05:12:13 GMT

I waited in a six hour line to get into Capitol Rotuna in 1963 to pass by Kennedy's casket. That line was at least 5 mi long, 5 across on a very cold November night. Everybody was so quiet and respectful and the soldier right behind me had come from Germany to pay his respects.

Re: They're Lining Up to Say Goodbye

Linmo — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 05:20:29 GMT

What a tribute to such an amazing woman!

Re: They're Lining Up to Say Goodbye

golding76 — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 05:27:31 GMT

patbz, I was in line with you. Small world.

There were probably several days for paying our respects, but I do not remember that exactly. I do remember the quiet. We were gutted emotionally. We went at night, as I recall.

While waiting, a friend from high school passed by. Since our high school was only an hour's drive from D.C., the occurrence wasn't exceptionally rare, but it was strange. We were in college at the time of the assassination of John Kennedy.

Re: They're Lining Up to Say Goodbye

patbz — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 06:00:43 GMT

@golding76 : I went to Montgomery Blair H.S. and was a sophomore at University of Md. Several of us went the first night and it was so cold! Where did you go to school?

Re: They're Lining Up to Say Goodbye

golding76 — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 06:16:10 GMT

At that time, I was a junior at the University of Maryland. I lived in Montgomery Hall Center. You? It would be a hoot if you were in Montgomery Hall, too. I had a friend in Montgomery Hall West and East.

[If I give my high school name, it will give my hometown name. Maybe too much information. You know, that old mosaic thing...]

It would be interesting to know how many times our paths have crossed, Pat, and we did not know it. I started on my master's degree at the University of Pennsylvania. Were you there, too?

Re: They're Lining Up to Say Goodbye

Tinkrbl44 — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 06:47:53 GMT

On tonight's news I could have sworn they said the wait in line was approximately 30 hours .... could that even be possible ... or likely?

Re: They're Lining Up to Say Goodbye

patbz — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 16:04:04 GMT

@golding76 :

I was in the Pi Phi house and often walked right by your dorm. I got my Masters from Ball State so no match there! I loved living in suburban Maryland back then; so much to do and so many places to go

Re: They're Lining Up to Say Goodbye

tansy — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 17:05:19 GMT

All I can think of is how many people have stupendous bladder control 😵‍💫

Re: They're Lining Up to Say Goodbye

candyagain — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 17:07:03 GMT

Depends.....

Re: They're Lining Up to Say Goodbye

shoesnbags — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 17:09:56 GMT

@tansy wrote:
All I can think of is how many people have stupendous bladder control 😵‍💫

@tansy

Exactly what I was thinking. The Brits must have better bladders than me! I'd need a bathroom for sure.

Re: They're Lining Up to Say Goodbye

proudlyfromNJ — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 17:28:21 GMT

They have potties outdoors where all the lines of people are moving slowly along to head inside to pay their respects.

Re: They're Lining Up to Say Goodbye

CrazyKittyLvr2 — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 17:36:30 GMT

Being a nobody I know how hard a regular American viewing (usually a few hours) and funeral are on a family.

I can't imagine 10 days of it. Yeah, I know, Queen/70 yrs. and all of that but it has to take a toll on people.

Re: They're Lining Up to Say Goodbye

shoesnbags — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 17:37:41 GMT

@proudlyfromNJ wrote:
They have potties outdoors where all the lines of people are moving slowly along to head inside to pay their respects.

@proudlyfromNJ

Whew, that's good to hear! As you can tell, I'm not watching any of this, so I didn't know about the potties.

Re: They're Lining Up to Say Goodbye

Tinkrbl44 — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 19:20:41 GMT

@CrazyKittyLvr2 wrote:
Being a nobody I know how hard a regular American viewing (usually a few hours) and funeral are on a family.

I can't imagine 10 days of it. Yeah, I know, Queen/70 yrs. and all of that but it has to take a toll on people.

@CrazyKittyLvr2

ITA ...ten days ??? It's just too much. Very poor planning, IMO. News coverage will drop considerably because it's ... old news.

Re: They're Lining Up to Say Goodbye

beckyb1012 — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 19:27:11 GMT

Plus the 7 days of mourning starting the day after the funeral.

Re: They're Lining Up to Say Goodbye

ValuSkr — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 19:28:49 GMT

I heard the line was now four miles long and it will take up to nine hours to navigate. Think how you'd start to be annoyed by the folks immediately behind and immediately in front of you. ... I wonder if TPTB could speed up the line a bit. Or would that be disrespectful?

Re: They're Lining Up to Say Goodbye

Trailrun23 — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 19:59:42 GMT

The line is currently over four miles long waiting to walk past the Queen's casket. How wonderful to see such respect and devotion for their Queen. I am sad we seem to show zero respect for anyone in the US anymore, from the clothes worn in public to the way people speak to each other via social media.. or even face to face. Can't imagine any public figure here who would command such an outpouring of love and respect upon their passing. We could learn a thing or two from the British in that regard.