Skip to main content

Remembering the Magic

It is already a few weeks on from that wonderful Disney World weekend with Wendy, and I am still remembering that fateful trip. All the icons - Cinderella's Castle, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, It's A Small World, Carrousel of Progress, and the rest - seem to seap into the subconscious and leave a small impression that carries forward. Sure, it is a series of amusement parks - Magic Kingdom, Epcot Center, MGM Studios, and Animal Kingdom the quartet - but it has become a national institution. You can realize this by stepping back and watching the passersby, all those park visitors who come from Sheboygan and Fargo and St. Louis and Paris (Texas, that is - and France, too, for that matter); they are, for the most part, a perfect cross-section of Americana. I got that feeling from the market research volunteers that show up from time to time at the gates to ask for guests' zip codes and impressions they have of the park.

Just a momentary thought, but I dwell for long enough to savor the memories. I'm sure Walt Disney anticipated this sensation, as his creativity - along with the creativity of his imagineers - would thrive on this reaction of sensory recall. Remembering the magic is fun over and over again as the memories return for happy interludes of a few days at the Magic Kingdom and beyond.

Comments

TheNeedyMother said…
Hey you!! Congratulations! Feeling like Gene Kelly at any moment is pretty awesome :)
Todd said…
And there is more - I have pix of the engagement happening!

It's only a few more days at the Disney photo site, but here it is:

www.disneyphotopass.com
username: gusgus1128@yahoo.com
password: disneyworld

Popular posts from this blog

Everyday Love Poem to my Wife

Over a year of marriage carries Happiness, love, and sometimes cranberries But eventually the pace slows down, Work intrudes, some days a frown And suddenly the world has changed. What we must do is simply rearrange The days so that other things fit neatly In their own places, and move on sweetly To the beauties of the everyday together. Because there is love everywhere, wherever You shall be - and perhaps also Rosie - This is a good thing naturally, So good to state it thus and remember That only frigid mornings in November Can keep us apart, but only so long As the work day lasts because so strong Is our pact that I worry not a wink - Your loveliness is worth so much, I think.

Sitting in a NYC Taxicab

I was whirring up Park Avenue for a meeting at the Waldorf Astoria (oh, how posh!) when I pulled out my cameraphone to snap a picture uniquely indicative of New York City. Something representative without being overdone (easier said that done!). Something relatable to almost anyone that has been to this wonderful city. Something easy to recognize. Something difficult to forget. Sitting in a NYC taxicab, it was apparent where the shutter would point itself. Of all the places that I have been in Manhattan through the years, none have been so welcoming and iconic as the backseat of those yellow beacons of light after a bender of a night. An United Nations of drivers mans these vehicles, representative of the dream that the United States has often been for the fortunate, displaced, and ambitious - not that disillusionment did not follow when finding the cab as an occupation hopeful for a better future. Regardless, the taxicab is often friend, sometimes foe - and sometimes the instigator of...

Muggles...

...is what I tweeted last night after having the privilege of attending a private screening of the movie hours before the midnight premiere. As much as the digital revolution has fragmented the shared experiences that we have, it has also greatly expanded the impact of those events that touch various peoples. Witness Harry Potter. In the pre-digital world, this would have been an uniquely British story about wizards and boarding schools, but it has captivated global audiences and transcended the borders of its now-uber-wealthy writer. We were part of the crowd that spanned the globe to see this movie, which I can say, lives up to the hype. On a Thursday evening, we could watch the lines of children queuing up to get a chance to say goodbye to a childhood growing up with Harry Potter and watching the actor grow from a plump-faced little boy into a serious actor and apparent alcoholic. It did not matter for 2.5 hours in the theater, of a movie that was pretty gripping from beginnin...