So You Think Ships with Common Names Care about Meeting Each Other
By Greggory Moore
Image Copyright 2006 Long Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau
I didn’t understand. On Thursday, February 23rd, 2006, the Queen Mary 2 was coming to Long Beach to “greet” the Queen Mary for the first time. “Royal Rendezvous,” it was being called (even with its own Website). I didn’t get it. I had to see what was up.
The QM2 was scheduled to come into Long Beach Harbor at noon. I keep a later schedule than you, so I needed my alarm clock, and it was a little past before I made my way outside. I trotted down towards the ocean, trying to gauge the best spot for witnessing the blessed event. “Don’t worry,” said a smiling surfer guy pedaling a beach cruiser, “you won’t miss it.” I maneuvered around some sort of fenced-off construction site and over onto the bike/jogging path that runs along the complex of docks on the way to Shoreline Village. Shortly I flowed into a steady stream of people. A dog was jumping up and down. Two adolescent girls were waving at nothing that could see them. The air was filled with gigantic dragonflies — helicopters, I suppose. Skywriters temporarily graffitied the cerulean canopy with salutational messages in perforated type: “HAIL TO THE QUEENS,” etc. Yeah, okay.
There was a helter-skelter flotilla of rather small watercraft (including a single fireboat propelling confused-looking plumes of water). Thousands of people teemed the various shores of the bay, many of them speaking of things they really knew nothing about: “…24 storeys high…,” “These people are idiots: they think they’re gonna come up side-by-side.” There was at least one video camera every 10 feet. There were kids everywhere. (Shouldn’t these little bastards be in school?) Two skydivers skydove in tandem trailing a red streamer and separated, the streamer giving way to a British flag on one, an American flag on the other. The QM2 didn’t get within a quarter-mile of her namesake. The visitor honked her horn a couple of times; the local answered back with a big bellow. About 20% of the crowd applauded, some quite enthusiastically. Don’t cruise ships come and go around here every day? Oh yeah: same name, never met…Clearly I was a poor sport. But the thousands didn’t know what to do with themselves; it wasn’t clear that really anything had happened. A voice in my wake, aft and maybe slightly astern (see, that’s boat talk): “I thought it would be closer, though.” Chin up, little buckaroo—you were part of history!
I deliver Express Mail in 90803, 90804, and 90814. I planned my deliveries to be at the
pier at 12:30 when the horns were to blow. It was a bit foggy, and as I just pulled up parallel to the pier. I heard a faint horn. “Was that IT?” I asked a crowd of looky-loos.
“Yes, that wasn’t oo loud, was it? They said the horns would be able to be heard from
10 miles away, but I don’t think so!”
“Oh” I answered and drove off.
So, that was it. The QM and QM2.
Yawn. I guess some people like to see big things – maybe dream about affording passage on one. Some probably wanted nothing more than to witness a massive collision sinking both. I went for a ride on Neville instead. Neville is my Triumph Bonneville, so don’t go all homophobic on me.
Then I worked on my dotcom – you should visit it!
Note to webmaster: I see no labels for these buttons. Is this site non-Mac-friendly?
Oh, and the term is URL, not URI. Still, thanks for hosting the blog.
Good observation, your ideas are right on.