A royal inspiration?
May 30, 2005
By Cam Tait
At the risk of seeming ungrateful and somewhat cynical, I offer the following contribution with great disappointment. You see, I had all my questions ready to go in the most proper English. There weren't - no I beg your pardon, that should be were not - any contractions; there was no slang, nor any smart remarks. I even suggested that Mrs. Tait go buy herself a new hat for the occasion, because after all, we're told Queen Elizabeth likes people with hats. In her honour, I was even going to wear my favourite hat: a cap a sportswriter buddy picked up when he was in Augusta, Ga. covering the Masters. It is, after all, my favourite cap.
If you have been near a television or read a newspaper, or even picked up a casual conversation in a coffee shop, you'll know the Queen and Prince Phillip made their way through western Canada last week. They visited my city, Edmonton, and stayed at the Hotel MacDonald. I know a few people at the hotel and thought they might be able to sneak my wife and me in the back way for a cup of tea one afternoon, perhaps even a biscuit with saskatoon jam.
I thought if I had that opportunity, maybe I could bring along the list of questions I prepared for the Queen - questions about her charity activities and where she likes to share her charitable contributions. And, where does she see the future of the nonprofit sector headed, how should we retain volunteers, is there too much cross-marketing and advertising between big business and fundraising events...? Then, I turned on the television and a reporter was showing viewers the manual - hardcover and all - of what the media can and can't do when they cover the adventures of the Queen. There are more don'ts than dos, and perhaps not surprisingly, reporters can't even ask Her Majesty any questions. That's a faux pas.
So there went my plans right out the window to ask the Queen about charity. And then I began to think.
As I saw the private plane land in Edmonton at taxpayers' expense, there were countless people who probably heard the engines roar at the City Centre Airport; people in the inner city, without a roof over their head or a warm meal in their stomachs. I saw the motorcade, surrounded with police officers redirecting traffic within miles of the Queen, and you have to know a good many of them were on overtime. I thought of the recent news story of the school lunch program being cut back because of funding. And as there were several announcements of new things named after Her Royal Highness, I thought of the hundreds of people in this city who go about their jobs, hour after hour, day after day, and the only recognition they get is more work, more demands and less fanfare.
There are people who love the Queen. And yes, the monarchy represents tradition, royalty, and perhaps even magic. I think, and I hope, I understand that. But I've never been a royal watcher. Forgive me please, but in these times of over population, with so many folks doing without, and so many people needing the very basics just to live another day, all the pomp and circumstance seems a little over the top for me.
There were tens of thousands of people who went to see the Queen at a public event in the rain. For many of them, perhaps, she was the only ray of sunshine they might have for that day and many more. And that being the case, the Queen's visit will certainly be a treasured memory for some. It would be nice though, if somehow, some way, the Queen also gave someone in town a little ray hope. That would make everything worthwhile.
Cam Tait is a sports reporter and columnist for the Edmonton Journal. He covered community investments and volunteers for 19 years. E-mail Cam at cam@charityvillage.com with thoughts, suggestions or ideas.
Opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of CharityVillage.com®.
