Should Be To the Manor Born
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 I feel so ashamed. I've gone and got
myself hooked on Downton Abbey,
an early twentieth century Brit (Masterpiece Theater) soap
opera. Never did bother with that
"Upstairs-Downstairs" thing
that was all the rage in the 1970's; something I dismissed
as only fitting for women, pussies and shut-ins. I think it was
much like Downton; focused
on the relationship between the landed gentry and their
servants.
I adore Downton Abbey (so
far; the smart money says I won't finish it). It has everything; women to
lust after, villains to hate; and nice furniture.
I was—am— someone who always felt more comfortable with the
past. My (and
cuzzin ricky's) Granny was from a lower echelon of the English
landed
class. Family owned orchards, and had a nice stone manse.
Against her
family's wishes, she fell in love with a divinity student
graduate, not
of her class, and ran off to America with him. When he was
dragged to his
death (after siring four daughters likety-split), by horses
spooked by a passing automobile's back-fire, she
became a house servant in the South Dakota governor's mansion.
Scrubbed floors. Later, when my own father was crowned by a Nazi
mortar
shell, she moved in to care for us while mom worked.
I respect a culture that hangs horse thieves straight away, and where
a gentleman would never utter the word "fuck" in front of a
proper
lady. The Great War saw the end of that storybook era in England,
but
I would have been comfortable in it, as Lord or footman, although I am
better suited to Droit du
seigneur than to polishing the silver.
PS
After watching the first season on NetFlix, I was flummoxed to
discover that was all they had. So, for the first time, I found
something useful in Amazon's Prime
instant watch video service; they have the full set.
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