I was up way early- a little before 0400- and resigned myself to watching some of last night’s repeats on the flat-screen until the new programming started for the day. I assumed I was going to go back to bed, so I poured a little toddy to un-angrify the blood, quoting the immortal baseball star and philosopher Mr. Satchel Paige.

It was only a few minutes until live coverage of the President and First Lady in London. The majesty of that special B-747 Air Force ONE always impresses me. We have forgotten just how big those beasts are, since we mostly travel with the two-engine wide-bodied twin engine aircraft these days.

Not the President, of course. At the ramp they did the usual disembarkation drill- the boarding ramp was wheeled up and the hatch opened on the forward exit with the usual Secret Service presence. I was interested in the Presidential exit. As you know, Mr. Trump is sensitive about his coiffure, and his wife Melania is alway the very picture of the well-groomed former fashion model.

There was a pretty decent breeze at the airport, and none of the hairstyles made it very far out of the aircraft intact. The soon-to-be-departing Prime Minister May was waiting down on the tarmac and had the good sense to wear a hat, and I think the judgment on the ubiquitous rad ball caps was that it was inappropriate to wear to meet the Queen of England and protector of the Commonwealth.

Everyone seemed pleasant- two special SH-3 Sikorsky helicopters were waiting- protocol always demands two- were waiting to whisk the First Couple to Buckingham Palace and the ceremonial welcome from the Queen. No one does ceremony like the Brits, and the President, unconvernional as always, took time to chat with some of the scarlet-clad Guardsman in their bearskin Busby headgear.

Very cool. I hope the visit goes well. The Mayor of London apparently thinks the President is a jerk, and Mr. Trump has echoed his distaste, comparing Mr. Khan’s performance in office to that of Mayor de Blasio in New York, which has rendered him the least popular Presidential candidate in a couple hundred years.

But oh well. There are some things we need to remember this first week in June for other reasons. The Battle of Midway in 1942 and the D-Day invasion of Normandy in 1944 need to be remembered while some of those soldiers and sailors remain with us.

Give them a thought as we bustle about our affairs. All gave some. Some gave all. The Brits seem to remember.

I am pleased that the worst thing I have to confront down here at Refuge Farm is a potential bad hair day. When you consider how we all got to this place in history, we can just be thankful no one asked us to pay the price they did.

Copyright 2019 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com