| Author | Message | ||
     Pwnzor |
Today was quite a proud one for my family, as the Queen arrived to our native home of Saba, Netherlandse Antilles.  What made this visit extra special is that my young cousin, Gavin Petersen, piloted the aircraft which delivered her to and from the island. (I taught this kid how to ride a bike)  Here we see the Queen disembarking the aircraft, with her aide behind her.  And here is my cousin Courtney presenting her with a bouquet of native flora.   There was a reception at which Courtney gave a short speech commemorating the Queen's visit, after which she dined for supper at my uncle LeRoy's house, the highest house on the island. Saba has a population of around 1000 people and a large portion of my family has lived there since about 1620. Christopher Columbus "discovered" the island on one of his first voyages in search of a trade route to China and India. Just thought everyone might get a kick out of seeing this, I know I did. Sadly, motorcycles are outlawed on the island as there are only a few miles of road and they are mostly vertical. | ||
| Hdbobwithabuell |
Cool! | ||
| G234146 |
Did u grow up there? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saba | ||
| Mainstreamer |
 | ||
| Rasmonis |
Looks like a cool place. | ||
| Pwnzor |
Born there, moved to Northern Cal at age two, back to Saba at age four, then to Long Beach, Ca at age seven. Then we went back for three months every two years until I was naturalized here at age 18. Dual citizenship was not an option at the time, although I think it is now, but I don't see any real point in pursuing that. I can always go back without citizenship because I was born there. | ||
| Brineusaf |
Interesting... love small towns. Nice story! | ||
| Hans |
Absolute surprise to find an illustrated story about our Queen on an American motorcycle board. Thanks  Hans | ||
| Rocketman |
Interesting history. It's amazing where some people come from. I'd never heard of Saba until now. So are you a pirate descendant Matt? Rocket | ||
| Kdan |
Holland has a queen? | ||
| Newfie_buell |
You just never know where people are from here on the Badweb. A thread a while back someone posted"Badweb has no Borders" isn't that true. | ||
| Blake |
One of my favorite motorcycling stops is named after a former Queen of the Netherlands. | ||
| Djkaplan |
I never heard of Saba before, or knew that Holland had a Queen. I thought the whole thread was an eloborate hoax at first. | ||
| Pwnzor |
Most people have never heard of Saba, that I expect. I say Saba, and people say "huh, where?" It's a bit hard to understand how one can not know the Netherlands has a King (deceased) and Queen, I suppose that says something about the schools here. It's hard to learn something if you're not taught about it, and you can't fault anyone for it but the teachers. Queen Beatrix is well loved by her subjects at home and abroad, and is one of the richest people in the world with a personal wealth estimated around $4.7 billion. As you can see it doesn't affect her ability to mix with the regular folks. No, I'm not descended from pirates, although Saba has been a stopover point for more than a few. The terrain was very prohibitive to an "invasion" and so the locals generally escaped being plundered, the pirates having favored the lower ground. I thought the whole thread was an eloborate hoax at first. Why would I make something like this up? It wasn't ME who was there, my cousins emailed me about it AFTER THE FACT. What you must think of me....  | ||
| Djkaplan |
"It's a bit hard to understand how one can not know the Netherlands has a King... " I'll bet more than half of the population of the US doesn't know that the Netherlands is what we call Holland. "What you must think of me.... " Sabanians (Sabananites?) must be a really emotional people. | ||
| Lady_asb |
That's very cool, Matt! Queen Bee Visits the Hive (or something like that). I think the elaborate hoax comment was simply an appreciation for a quick wit demonstrated elsewhere... Its so hard to read faces/voice inflections on a board. Joanne | ||
| Mainstreamer |
Thanks Matt, very interesting and informative. What a wonderful experience for your countrymen and specifically for your family. | ||
| Pwnzor |
"Sabeans" (say-bee-ans) I'll bet more than half of the population of the US doesn't know that the Netherlands is what we call Holland. Says something about our public schools, eh? Holland is only part of the Netherlands. Beatrix is Queen of all the colonies as well. Sabanians (Sabananites?) must be a really emotional people. Not really, but they do tend to be a bit sarcastic. I like your take on it Joanne. Once again, you're the voice of reason. I wish I could have been there, haven't been home in about 10 years now. |
