10:35am Friday | “Almooost” had NBC Los Angeles onboard the ship…packed and ready to go. And, a bunch of Facebook supporters of Her Majesty, too.
12:00pm Thursday | In an effort to raise funds and awareness of the City’s many unique cultural, historic, and economic resources, and to attract international business to the area, Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster, City Manager Pat West, and several City Council Members announced today that plans are now under way to relaunch the City’s iconic Queen Mary.
“We’re thinking of it as a ‘good will tour,'” Foster said at an early morning press conference. The brass buttons on his authentic British Captain’s uniform sparkled in the pre-dawn light. “We want to show everyone that Long Beach isn’t afraid to leverage her assets, and to take risks!”
“The ship is a museum,” continued West. “Not only does it have art from the 1920’s that we can sell at every port to help pay for the trip, but we’ve brought some modern examples of our fantastic public art as well.” Walking along the ship’s Promenade, he gestured to various artworks. “Here, we ripped up all the sidewalks on Belmont Shore so we could share the amazing shadow paintings, and here is our much celebrated Orange Twist, donated by the good people of North Long Beach.”
The voyage, which plans to stop in Central and South America, Africa, and the Middle East, will ultimately end in China, which has shown interest in purchasing Long Beach for an undisclosed amount.
The trip, which may take more than a year, leaves the City without its key leaders. When asked if this will negatively impact the City’s operation, both Foster and West answered in unison: “No.”
Editor’s Note: Happy April Fool’s Day!