Maine Cruise Ship Visit Brings Autographed Queen Guitar

Being on a cruise ship for the first time was pretty cool, but for some reason seeing this guitar impressed me the most.

This past Friday, we were fortunate enough to get a tour of the Zaandam, one of the many cruise ships that will visit Bar Harbor this season, courtesy of the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce.  Apparently, it's a tradition to visit a cruise ship when it visits Bar Harbor for the first time.  Members of the Chamber present gifts like lobsters and plaques to the Captain of the ship and vice-versa.  It was a good time, and the food was great!

But one thing we noticed right off was some of the rock memorabilia that hung on the walls.  There were autographed guitars from Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy and Robert Cray, and a drawing by David Bowie.

But this one Fender guitar that was autographed by the four members of the band Queen really stuck.  Maybe because it's been the year of Queen, with the bio-doc flick Bohemian Rhapsody being so popular.  Or, maybe it's because we're going to NYC this August to see the band with Adam Lambert at Madison Square Garden.  Or, maybe it's because one of the greatest rock 'n roll showmen ever had signed the guitar way back when.  There it was, and it was very readable.  Freddie Mercury.

Freddie Mercury has been gone now since 1991.  That's a long time, and he had once touched that guitar.  Very cool.

We stood mesmerized and stared at it for awhile, and then eventually moved on.  Just like time does.  But, for one moment time stood still, just long enough to reflect on what once was, and more of what could've been.