April 24, 2020
Fifty years ago, my mother was speaking with one of the women from our church. This woman mentioned that she was going to California and that she would be visiting Disneyland. She mentioned that she was going to originally take her nephew, but unfortunately something was preventing that from happening. She asked my mother if she could take me.
My mother told me about this. I didn't know what Disneyland was, but she said that it was the place where they made those shows that we watched every Sunday at 6pm around dinnertime: Disney's World Of Color...irony of the time: we watched the show on a 19" Black and White television. I wouldn't get the full impact of that program for another 2 or 3 years.
The story goes that everything began falling into place, including the fact that her nephew WOULD be able to go. I was disappointed, but my mother said to me that one day, I would get to see it. I DID get a souvenir from that trip: my first pair of Mickey Mouse Club Ears. They're not like they are today: these are made of a grey felt-like material, and the ears are attached by some sort of rivet. I came upon them a while back, and one day I'll remember to get them out of storage.
Today, my most recent souvenir showed itself. It is not the shirt I was looking for (this is a more modern design)...I was looking for a design closer to what you see in the second photo, but as it seems when James is looking for a shirt to fit him, a crew of about 50,000 race into action to put them all away (or at least the ones in his size).
We made our visit to Disneyland last October as part of our 10th Wedding Anniversary Celebration, which was preceded by a cruise down to Mexico (and back). We had a wonderful time and met some lovely people, with whom we still keep in contact.
Disneyland will likely be a once, or maybe twice in a lifetime trip, but the second I stepped into the park for the first time, I imagined I was talking to my mom, and said, "I made it."
Have a great day everyone.
#StayHome #StaySafe #TShirtADay