"Well, this must be interesting," said Antonio to Roberto, "Look at this long queue (line in American English). We have nothing else to do, so let's go see what it is." Antonio and Roberto turned out to be in one of my ESL classes when I taught in Malta. They had just arrived in the islands when they saw a long line entering the minister's palace, surrounded by a beautiful Mediterranean garden.
They later told me that they did get on line. It was a beautiful March day in Malta--sunny but not yet oppressively hot as it would be in another month or so. So the guys didn't mind waiting... until it was an hour and they had only gotten inside the gate. It looked like it could be another hour before they saw or met who or whatever the people were lined up to see. "We decided to wait our turn because we had already waited so long already," Roberto told me a couple of days later during his first lesson with me.
Up ahead, they watched, curiously, as women who exited through the gate were wiping their eyes. Finally, Antonio and Roberto got up to what everyone had been waiting for. Antonio said he he heard himself gasp. There, they boys stood, peering down at the dead body of Malta's president in his coffin.
Luckily, the president is only a FIGUREHEAD in Malta. If it had been the prime minister, the boys would have had to wait in line for days.
HaHa! I bet they did, Michael--thanks a lot for reading and commenting--Ilene
Posted by: Ilene Springer | 02/08/2020 at 07:23
You never know what to expect....I hope, after their initial shock, that they did express their condolences....
Posted by: Michael Bregman | 02/08/2020 at 04:29