IT'S NOT EASY BEING A QUEEN
The Muppet, Kermit the Frog, said "It's not easy being green." Well, it's not easy being a queen either, but let me explain.
Every year around early June, Miami celebrates the Royal Poinciana Fiesta to encourage the planting and proliferation of the Poinciana and other flowering trees in South Florida. The festival began in 1937, so this year was the 82nd anniversary. It usually lasts for several days and
includes many different events and tours, and a queen is selected to reign over the pageant. Today, college students must apply to be the Queen and she is chosen by a committee and awarded a scholarship. Many years ago, the selection process was very different.
In 1953, I was in my junior year at the University of Miami when I received a telephone message from the Dean Of Women that she wanted me to come to her office the next day. I had just skipped a few days of classes to go to New York City and I was sure that she had learned that I wasn't sick. I was probably due for a lecture, so I wasn't looking forward to the appointment when I went to her office the following day.
To my surprise, that wasn't it at all. Dean Merritt told me that it was her responsibility to select the Poinciana Queen each year and she had chosen me. (What?!) She stressed that this was not a 'beauty contest', (That didn't surprise me because I have never come close to being a 'beauty.') and the Queen was selected based on scholarship, character and recommendations from other professors, so of course I was flattered. She told me that my 'court of princesses' was being selected in the same manner by the Deans of the various high schools in South Florida. She gave me the busy schedule for the week which would begin on the first Sunday after the semester ended and told me that I would receive a complimentary suite at the Shelbourne oceanfront hotel on Miami Beach for me and my family for the entire week.
My first official 'duty' was to be introduced at a Garden Party on that Sunday afternoon. The other events would follow each day throughout the week. Monday morning was the Poinciana Art Exhibit where artists competed for prizes and that evening there was a folk opera at the Dade County auditorium. Tuesday there was a free distribution of 3,000 seedling trees by the City of Miami and later a cabana party for me and my court at the hotel. Wednesday was the official parade, followed by a band concert and the 'coronation of the queen' (me). Thursday there was the Poinciana Golf Tournament and Friday there was an Orchestra
Concert and the Artist Awards. The events concluded Saturday night with a formal ball at the Coral Gables Country Club.
I'm sure you will agree that it was a busy, but fun, schedule, so you might wonder why it wasn't easy being a queen? Well, Sunday and Monday went well, but Tuesday and Wednesday, not so much. The press was there on Tuesday for the beach party and the photographers wanted a picture of me with the princesses standing by the ocean in our swim suits. I had no intention of posing in a bathing suit, so after arguing with him for a while, he finally took the picture of us treading water in the swimming pool. (He only got a shot of our heads in swim caps, floating among the flowers he had thrown in the water!)
Miami's South Miami Avenue is a beautiful street that runs about a mile with a center median planted with over a dozen gorgeous Poinciana trees. This was the site for the Wednesday afternoon Parade. I arrived in my white tulle gown and again was met by the press. My picture was in the newspaper every single day that week. (It was embarrassing and I wished they had captioned each one with a disclaimer that explained it was NOT a beauty contest!) They wanted a picture of me surrounded by the beautiful red blossoms. So, since the trees were enormous, they decided to have me climb a very tall and wobbly ladder, then peer out through the flowers. The tulle of my long gown caught on the branches on the way up, but I finally made it and the reporter got his picture. After I carefully made my way back down, it was time for the parade.
They had me sit in a red convertible, high up on the back seat to wave to the public.That was another problem. There was no public. The street is beautiful, but it was in a residential neighborhood of lovely homes. To plan a parade there, especially on a weekday, made no sense at all. So, - there I sat in the beautiful car with my queenly wave, waving to a few maids who were sweeping front steps, a couple of gardeners mowing lawns, and a few residents who came to the door to see why there was a band on their street.
After the parade, I was driven downtown to the amphitheater in Miami's beautiful Bayfront Park. It was a large open-air space with an oval bandshell, surrounded by sloping tiers of seats for spectators. The Mayor of Miami was to crown me and I was to say a few words to encourage people to attend the various pageant events. The Mayor did crown me and I had prepared my small speech, but -oops! - the Mayor forgot to introduce my speech! The accompanying orchestra began to play and the Mayor escorted me off stage. It was probably just as well because there were only a few hundred spectators..and that included the homeless men who usually slept on the benches there at night!
Thursday, there was another picture of me in the paper giving out trophies at the Golf Tournament and on Friday I gave out prizes for the artists. Finally, Saturday and the 'end of my reign' was here and the pageant officials asked me to give the speech that I wasn't able to give at the Coronation. I told them it wouldn't work because it was written in anticipation of the various events and now it would all have to be be in the past tense. They said that would be fine, so I proceeded to tell them what had happened at the various events, - much as I have told you here. It got a lot of laughs and I hope it has given you a few smiles too.
