Give This Guy A Crown

The English do go crazy over royal births. Researchers think this is because it’s the only time a regular person in England sees the words “royal” and “labor” in the same sentence.

For the big event, a Sky News TV crew was interviewing a frothing group of people outside the hospital where the birth occurred. An anchorwoman with a microphone moved down a line of spectators, getting people’s reactions:

The first woman said “Very exciting, eez very very exciting. I vaz hoping for a boy.”

The anchorwoman moved to the next lady, a total power-fan. She surged toward the mic and chirped: “Very exciting…I’m here from morning until now…iz a baby boy!”

Then the anchorwoman put the mic up to a guy. He smiled and said “The news is…it’s a black boy.” The guy grinned. Silence ensued. The anchorwoman quickly moved to the next person.

Being surrounded by guys like this is what I hope Heaven is– a place where everyone has a sense of humor and nothing is off limits. No angels, no harp-players or hero-worshipers needed. Just grinners.

I once had a similar impromptu run-in with local TV news. I was living in Portland, Oregon and commuting to a state government job in Salem, forty minutes south. We had a big snowstorm one day, but I decided to head to work anyways. When I arrived, the quad housing the government buildings was empty of employees.

As I walked towards my office a news crew stopped me. We chatted for a moment. The camera started rolling and the anchorman said “This place is largely empty, but you made it to work today from Portland.”

The truth was that I had no vacation time left. But I smiled into the camera and said “Well, someone has to care about their job around here.”

I watched the news that night. I didn’t make the cut. I’m not sure why.