The recent royal wedding has dredged up a lot of reminiscences about the groom’s mother. So, I’ll dredge up a story of my own from about twenty or so years ago, which involves my partner’s sister, Penny, from Indiana, and a friend of ours named Joyce.
Joyce was not the only person who thought Penny looked a lot like Princess Diana. They were about the same age, and the same height (close to six feet), and while some of it was face and some was carriage, a lot of it was hairdo. On the few occasions when Joyce had met Penny, she liked to tease her by calling her “Lady Di.”
Penny had come up to visit us a week or so before Christmas. We went shopping and ended up at a local Target store, which was packed with holiday shoppers. When we were ready to check out, we got into one of the long lines and waited.
Also waiting two lines over was a woman with a little girl probably about nine years old. The girl was staring at Penny, and finally yanked on her mother's sleeve, whispering and pointing. Her mother looked over, smiled slightly and shook her head. The little girl persisted, and I heard her mother say, “No, that’s not her.” The girl became more agitated, bouncing up and down while tugging at her mother’s coat. More firmly, the mother said, “No, it isn’t. What would she be doing in a Target store in Lansing, Michigan?”
Just at that moment, I saw Joyce coming into the store, whom we hadn’t seen in a while. I hailed her, and she came over to say hello to us. I indicated Penny and said, “Look who’s here.”
Joyce immediately gasped in surprise, went down in a low curtsy with her head bowed and her hand over her heart, and said, “Your Highness!”
The little girl about fainted.
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