Happy New Year - 2008

I was given a copy of The Quotable Walt Disney for Christmas and I wanted to begin the New Year with something from Uncle Walt. But it was hard to settle on a single quote.

In fact, it is hard to settle on any specific theme for this post. With it being the New Year I was hoping for something profound to share that would inspire. But it is late, I’m tired, and profundity escapes me. I suppose it is simple enough to say that I am happy to have arrived at this year. I am blessed by having my family near. Even now four of my five grandchildren are asleep downstairs as I write this.

I am equally blessed by friends, both here in Nashville and elsewhere in the states and abroad. I have known many of my friends here for over twenty years. We have been through so much together. Now, my friends and I have begun to know what it is like to experience the loss of friends. The experiences this past year has caused bond we have to become even tighter and our times together all the more precious. We are learning (again) how not to take our friendships for granted.

These thoughts extend to these posts; both the ones that I write and more importantly, the ones that I read. I sense that there are among us, friendships waiting to be established, nurtured, and enriched in the year(s) to come. I know it is my wish to get to know those of you who share this obsession for Disney; to begin friendships beyond our postings and our comments. I know this is possible. I know these things happen through events like MouseFest, and I am committed to being there this year. But I hope to build friendships in this wonderful community long before December 11th.

I believe that friendship is a gift and in our Disney community those friendships are magical gifts. We help each other find the Magic each day. By doing so, we are in some respects continuing the legacy of Walt Disney with each bit of magic we post.

Writing this now, I guess a theme did emerge: friendship.

And, I did find a quote that may be appropriate. It is a challenge to friendship; both for my long time friends here in Nashville and to my new friends in the Disney online community. With a nod to Meet the Robinsons, I quote,

“Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We KEEP MOVING FORWARD, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

Walt Disney

Happy New Years friends and here is to the Magic!