Lie Back And Think Of The Empire

What a good sport the Queen of England is. Today she toured Jamestown and Colonial Williamsburg, taking in all the sights and sounds of what would have been her empire, if not for that little trouble back in 1776. At a museum of objects excavated from the site of what would become England's first American settlement, she stopped at a display of medical instruments, including a spatula for treatment of constipation. "David!" she called to Commander David Swain, a Royal Navy doctor who travels with her. "You ought to have some things like that." Her highness has a little poop-humor in her, it would seem.
Scatological references aside, I imagine it must be odd to drop by most of the free world with the memories of what had once been a mighty empire. The kids in my fourth grade class have a hard time imagining that a little country like England "was the boss of us." They seem more content with the notion that Spain was in charge of Mexico and California. This makes sense to them. I guess there's just not much left that is too threatening about the British. Maybe that's why it has been fifty years since the Queen last visited her former colonies. This is not to say that the old girl doesn't get around. She's made dozens of state visits over the years, even popping across the pond for a visit with Presidents Eisenhower (1957), Ford (1976), Reagan (1983) and Bush I (1991). It is interesting to note that she tends to show up for the Republicans, not so much for the Democrats.
For some reason, it's taken half a century for her majesty to find her way back to Jamestown. Perhaps the wounds are still a bit fresh, historically speaking. I suspect that once the roller coaster is finished at Roanoke Island, she'll be back all the time.