Almost Royalty

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I met Tony Blair yesterday. Yes, the former British Prime Minister. I actually shook his hand, which means I am now one degree from the Queen. That makes all of you, my fine feathered friends, a mere two degrees from the Queen. (You are also close to Kevin Bacon: I stood next to him on the subway once. He was wearing a trucker hat. Tony Blair was not wearing a trucker hat.)

I entered the event, which was held at a country club with jillion dollar houses overlooking a golf course where Tiger sometimes plays, and endured the first of many golf jokes from the lady/clown handing out the name tags: "Mulligan? You're not here to play golf." Stock response: "It never gets old." The last time I met a British person (two weeks ago), he told me that the "Irish are the loveable losers," so you can appreciate that I was a little worried about how Mr. Blair would respond to me. Since he shook hands with over 300 people, though, I am pretty sure he had stopped listening to my name when I got as far as "Ca-".

Which is not to say he wasn't gracious. First of all, if you're Tony, don't you want to go diving for the hand sanitizer after shaking all those hands? If he was thinking that, he didn't let it show. Second of all, if you're Tony, would you tell a humorous story about the first and last time you played golf. With President Bill Clinton. Well, ok, I don't have any stories like that either, but if we did, would we tell a funny at our own expense just to warm up the crowd?

He spoke cogently on current affairs and answered lots of important questions about things like the Middle East peace process. He did not answer some of the tougher questions that were on my mind. Questions like "What on earth would ever prompt Helen Mirren to do a remake of 'Arthur'?" Still, I appreciated the opportunity to hear a world leader speak about, well, the world!

The connectivity is fascinating. Through Mr. Blair, we're linked to the Queen. Through the Queen, we're linked to Winston Churchill. History in three handshakes. Through Mr. Blair, we're connected to all the leaders of the Middle East, where history is unfolding. I'm sure we could fill a huge white board with all of the possible degrees of separation. (Through me, Tony Blair is only one - sort of - degree from Kevin Bacon.)

All these ties tell our collective story. The fact that our lives are interwoven gives me a sense of safety. More than just a numbers game, it places us in context, which is a friendlier feeling than solitude. And being part of something encourages us to have agency over our place here. We all matter. Our values and contributions affect the whole, so make them meaningful. (Helen Mirren, I'm talking to you. 'Arthur'?!)

Mr. Blair is flying back to the Middle East to continue his work there.* I flew to another city for more business stuff. Maybe you did the dishes. I wonder what Queen Elizabeth is up to? Probably not the dishes. Every little vibration that each of us makes zings along the channels of time and space and creates a little wave. Let's tap into our own nobility and be a bit royal in our own right.

And you? You're one degree from__________?

* If you're interested in what Tony Blair is doing now, click here.