Congratulations to Britain's Queen Elizabeth for reigning over the U.K. for 60 years. Throughout my 74 years, I've heard many Americans state they think we sometimes wish we had a Royal Family of our own. Indeed, the pageantry and ceremony connected with the British Royals is, for many of us, a joy to witness.

Much of the Royal glow has, of course, sadly dimmed since the tragic death of Princess Diana, the news of Prince Charles's romantic escapades, and so forth. Refreshing, however, in my opinion, is the recent marriage of Kate Middleton and Prince William, as well as coverage of Prince Harry's playful personality. Both Princes are, as we're all aware, serving in their country's military, honorably and without special treatment.

I had the joy, along with my then wife, to have a genuine one-on-one with Will's and Harry's great-grandmother, Queen Mother Elizabeth, during a chance happenstance in the summer of 1977. It's a great memory to share, and I hope you'll enjoy it, to wit:

My wife and I were standing in front of Buckingham Palace. From behind us, we were approached by a very large and imposing-figured gentleman who identified himself as one Van Alexander. He told us he had just finished 25 years of service in the Palace, and had a special treat in store for us if we walked him the short distance to St. James's Palace. Since it was mid-day and there were numerous other people around us, we felt we were "safe".

When we got to a narrow street outside the gates to St. James's Palace, he told us to look farther down the street. He gleefully said, "Look at those tourists. They're not going to see what you're going to see!" We were positioned directly across from the automobile gates. Mr. Alexander then stated, "Watch for the gatekeeper in the gatehouse. When you see his head pop out of the gatehouse window, it'll be the signal the Queen Mum will be exiting the gates in her car. When the car turns the corner and gets directly in front of us, wave at her, and you'll see what happens!"

Indeed, the gatekeeper/footman's head popped out the gatehouse window, looking back and forth. He was dressed in frilly white neckwear, befitting a gatekeeper/footman for the Queen Mum. The gates electronically opened, and out came a gigantic purple eight passenger Daimler. In the back, sitting on the right hand side, was the Queen Mum. When her car turned into the street it did so very slowly and was directly in front of us. We waved a polite little wave, as Van had instructed us to do, and she immediately gave us the biggest smile and waved a cute little wave right back at us, less than two feet from where we were standing. Her skin was the most beautiful skin could ever be: Peaches and cream and like an Alabaster vase. As the car passed, she briefly looked back at us and smiled the warmest, most genuine smile anyone could ever receive.

Needless to say, Mr. Alexander (Van) got a big kick out of what the had just done for two American visitors, smiling from ear to ear, and asking if we were happy for the experience. We, of course, replied in the affirmative and then went our merry separate ways, thanking him of course, for the unique experience.

I think memories are the best things we homo sapiens own. They're strictly ours, firmly implanted in our brains, and the miracle of recollection is, in my opinion, one of life's true joys. Some of us have the blessing of immediate and total "recall". Some are not so lucky. Regardless, thanks for allowing me to share this memory with you.

(I hope you'll also consider sharing some time with me at www.startribune.com/video for my weekly A SENIOR MOMENT webcasts.