The Lost Colony, Sir Walter & Queen Elizabeth

Recently I took my daughter Jemima to see the musical/play called "The Lost Colony" on Roanoke Island. (www.thelostcolony.org). It's the longest-running outdoor production in America. (Native son Andy Griffith famously got his start there, starring as Sir Walter Raleigh, circa 1940.)

To me there's still something magical and mysterious about this story, especially on a balmy summer evening under the same starry sky gazed upon by the first English-born Americans.

Since my blog is dedicated to life's little (and not so little) ironies, my favorite part in the play is when Raleigh presents Queen Elizabeth with the tobacco and potatoes that he "discovered" in Virginia (now the Outer Banks of North Carolina).

The Queen takes one whiff of the smoke and gags; one taste of the potato and scoffs. She curses him for presenting her with such lowly treasure, having expected something valuable to swell the crown's coffers. The year is around 1587, so perhaps she can be forgiven for having more pressing concerns of defending England from the imminent menace of the Spanish Armada.

But when you think about it, those New World products certainly had the last laugh. It's difficult for me to think of more profitable enterprises in the history of mankind than tobacco and french fries. Addictions are easy to sell, what say?

Pictured are Jemima and Queen Elizabeth at the cast party after the performance. Sorry I can't remember the actresses' name. She wore a dress that cost $15,000.00 and weighed something like 20 pounds. With make-up, she was Her Majesty personified. A fun night and good history lesson for all of us.