Today I'm gonna do something a little different. I'm gonna tell a story from my own childhood. I won't lie and say I can remember all the details, and it would entertaining to hear even snip-its from others who were there. I have lost since lost contact with pretty much everyone, but my own mother involved, and understand her recollection would be as skewed as mine, being emotionally closer to the day in question. This was a powerful day for me, almost my own little miniature charlie in the chocolate factory. It kinda is a metaphor for most of my life, as odd as it may sound when you hear the tale.
I was about 8 or 9, living in southern CA, my soccer team had made it to some bigger game. Which while it seemed so important at the time has long since faded away. The trip the team took to Disney Land has stayed with me. The coach, some of the parents, two older kids teens, and a soccer team of 8 and 9 year old boys. What could possibly go wrong you ask? Fair enough question if you weren't me. It was decided that the two teens could watch the rest of us, while they went off. Hey it was the 70's it's how it was done, and we were a team. We set a time to meet back up at 3:00 pm under Snow Whites castle, and away we go.
At some point we are milling about deciding what to do next, and I told the teen girl in charge I was gonna grab a chocolate covered frozen banana, pointed to the stand, waited for her to acknowledge me, and off I go. I walk the 20 or so paces, buy the treat, turn around, and everyone is gone. It was like poof, I turned around for a few moments, and everyone I knew was gone. Some of you are in panic mode right now, OMG a 9 year old lost in Disney Land. Please slow your roll, and think about what you just said. I was a 9 year old boy that had been to Disney many times, I had an all day pass back in the day of E-ticket rides, and no one for me to guilty about keeping from some other ride they wanted to see. Once I was over the initial shock, I was off like shot to spend as much time as I wanted on Tom Sawyers island. I wriggled and sat in the caves till I felt like moving on, I road the corvette stingray cars, not quite sure how I pulled that off as I am pretty sure I was didn't meet the height requirement. Next came this arcade next to Space Mountain that had laser disc games that looked like movies to my mind. I'm not sure if I really road Space Mountain or not, because the event that happened when riding the escalator down is still so powerful in my emotions. I had been behaving very well thus far. I had no desire to alert any adults to the fact I was without supervision, a trait I would perfect in high school I assure you. This changed as the environment itself reveled it's potential to be a ride. Next thing I was riding the hand rail for the escalator down. What I didn't realize was my knee was not going to make it past a floor the escalator was passing. My knee gets caught and I start fall forward and swing out over the abyss waiting below. Next thing I feel is a really sharp jerk on my collar, lifting me clear up and setting me feet first in the middle of the escalator like I had been there the whole time. I turn around as I'm hearing a little girls voice asking "Mommy did you just save that boy?". When I look into the face of my rescuer I did not see a Mommy. I'm not certain what it was I saw there, but it was alot bigger, and more focused then any mom I had seen. The spell was snapped in an instant, and I was running down the escalator so I could escape the after effects of the heroic save. I don't remember much after that point, till I was in a novelty shop and bought a fake melted ice cream bar. Asked a person for the time, heard something very close to 3, I thanked him and ran off to the castle to end my adventure. Even the rest of the day, and the reunion at the castle has faded to only knowing it must of happened. That day though, it was magical for me, and still is.
Jack
aka
PanseyBard
I was about 8 or 9, living in southern CA, my soccer team had made it to some bigger game. Which while it seemed so important at the time has long since faded away. The trip the team took to Disney Land has stayed with me. The coach, some of the parents, two older kids teens, and a soccer team of 8 and 9 year old boys. What could possibly go wrong you ask? Fair enough question if you weren't me. It was decided that the two teens could watch the rest of us, while they went off. Hey it was the 70's it's how it was done, and we were a team. We set a time to meet back up at 3:00 pm under Snow Whites castle, and away we go.
At some point we are milling about deciding what to do next, and I told the teen girl in charge I was gonna grab a chocolate covered frozen banana, pointed to the stand, waited for her to acknowledge me, and off I go. I walk the 20 or so paces, buy the treat, turn around, and everyone is gone. It was like poof, I turned around for a few moments, and everyone I knew was gone. Some of you are in panic mode right now, OMG a 9 year old lost in Disney Land. Please slow your roll, and think about what you just said. I was a 9 year old boy that had been to Disney many times, I had an all day pass back in the day of E-ticket rides, and no one for me to guilty about keeping from some other ride they wanted to see. Once I was over the initial shock, I was off like shot to spend as much time as I wanted on Tom Sawyers island. I wriggled and sat in the caves till I felt like moving on, I road the corvette stingray cars, not quite sure how I pulled that off as I am pretty sure I was didn't meet the height requirement. Next came this arcade next to Space Mountain that had laser disc games that looked like movies to my mind. I'm not sure if I really road Space Mountain or not, because the event that happened when riding the escalator down is still so powerful in my emotions. I had been behaving very well thus far. I had no desire to alert any adults to the fact I was without supervision, a trait I would perfect in high school I assure you. This changed as the environment itself reveled it's potential to be a ride. Next thing I was riding the hand rail for the escalator down. What I didn't realize was my knee was not going to make it past a floor the escalator was passing. My knee gets caught and I start fall forward and swing out over the abyss waiting below. Next thing I feel is a really sharp jerk on my collar, lifting me clear up and setting me feet first in the middle of the escalator like I had been there the whole time. I turn around as I'm hearing a little girls voice asking "Mommy did you just save that boy?". When I look into the face of my rescuer I did not see a Mommy. I'm not certain what it was I saw there, but it was alot bigger, and more focused then any mom I had seen. The spell was snapped in an instant, and I was running down the escalator so I could escape the after effects of the heroic save. I don't remember much after that point, till I was in a novelty shop and bought a fake melted ice cream bar. Asked a person for the time, heard something very close to 3, I thanked him and ran off to the castle to end my adventure. Even the rest of the day, and the reunion at the castle has faded to only knowing it must of happened. That day though, it was magical for me, and still is.
Jack
aka
PanseyBard
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