Prince Harry Turns 21
I have a confession to make. I’m jealous of Prince Harry, and not just because he gets kissed by Spice Girls and has lots of money and probably goes to better parties than I do. Or has a yacht. And will never have to pay a utility or mortgage bill. And can go do charity work in Africa before jetting back for dinner at an exclusive restaurant in London. What I’m really most jealous of, besides the palaces, sports cars, expense accounts, TiVo, and the ability to contact famous movie stars on a whim, is the fact that he will be remembered.
Five hundred years from now, no matter how he chooses to spend his life, there will be paragraphs about him in books and other media about the history of the 20th and 21st Centuries. There may even be a biography. Children in British schools (such as the one I attended, King George V, in Hong Kong) will undoubtably learn his name in a long list of English royalty.
I on the other hand, will most likely be completely forgotten when the last of my grandchildren dies in a shabby nursing home on the back side of the moon. Only Mormon geaneological records will note the fact that I ever lived. I have now missed most of the opportunities to do the sorts of things that get one’s name recorded in the history books.
Except for bad things, of course. But I don’t want go down in history as, for example, the guy who snaps and gets shot while lobbing kosher pickles at the White House without any clothes on.
It’s just not fair. Prince Harry could even realize that the British royals exist for no other reason than to help England remain interesting, renounce his royal status and go to work as a postal clerk, and he would still get a paragraph in the history books.
September 18th, 2005 at 9:16 am
I have Tivo.
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Waaaaahhhhhh –Ed.
September 25th, 2005 at 3:34 pm
The key is not where you will be remembered (i.e. history books), but how. We encounter heroes everyday - teachers, parents, doctors, volunteers - people who make sacrifices so that others may live better lives; they shape the way we live, yet few of their names will make it into the history books. For the most part, this lack of immortality doesn’t concern them. They just want to be happy, and hopefully make a difference.
Live a good life. Do what makes you happy. If all we know is what we do, see, and feel - why waste time worrying about who you are not and what you are not. Happiness is the goal. Plus, I’m sure you’ve already had a positive, often dramatic effect, on the lives of many people - whether you realize it or not.
Prince Harry will be remembered, but so will many evil, hateful people. And possibly Paris Hilton. To my mind, it’s better to live well and live quietly than announce yourself an ass to the world and have it documented for the ages.
September 27th, 2005 at 5:31 pm
Touché… Wow, you’re writing is getting better and better. This is a great piece. It kind of makes me wonder. Do people that do weird inexplicable things do so (at least part of the time) in order to simply be remembered and stand out from the crowd? And it makes me wonder, what sort of things would get us in the history books? We should make a list.
I’ve always thought that if I could get a quote of mine on a Celestial Seasonings tea bag, I would have really accomplished something. I may be aiming a bit high there, but what the hell.