Where In The World

It has been a few weeks since we updated the last Where In The World with the same photograph with flash added. And that seemed to be what was needed, as your friend and mine, George from Imaginerding opined that "this land is your land." It is subtle way of saying the photograph comes from The American Adventure. In fact, once you walk in the door, but before entering the domed entry all, the fixture is on your right. So, congratulations to Mr. Taylor.

Onward.

Let's play again? I thought you'd never ask. So, here you are.

Disney World After Dark: Main Street U.S.A.

"I'm walking right down the middle of Main Street, U.S.A.
It's the heart of America, the heartbeat of a holiday
The place was made with a magical plan
And just around the corner is a fantasyland
I'm walking right down the middle of Main Street, U.S.A."

Do you ever have those mornings when you wake up singing a song? Well, it happened to me this morning. I have been puttering around Doc's Place humming this feel good classic. But there can be too much of a good thing (like, there is only so much of It's A Small World one can hum in a single setting), so I had to run get my iPod and grab a little One Little Spark.

But now back to Main Street U.S.A., it inspired me to add another photo to the DWAD night time collection.

Alight, now, everyone, you know the words, help me out!

"I'm walking right down the middle of Main Street, U.S.A."

Photo by Doc, October, 2007

Road Trip: Pennsylvania and North Carolina

This coming weekend there will be a lot of people traveling. Mrs. Doc and I will be among them. Unlike the Disney faithful who will be gathering in Camp Hill, we'll be in western North Carolina celebrating the release of her new book. But let's consider the Disney faithful for a moment; those in Camp Hill, those reading this post and the one who writes it.

The Disney community specializes in having fun, but we also specialize in caring. We care for each other and for others. The smiles that we have we want to share; we want to give them away. And who better to give a smile to than a child; especially a critically ill child who dreams of going to a magical place. Please read this from a friend.

"The DisneyWorldTrivia.com Dream Team Project is spreading the word about a special part of Fred Block's MagicMeets Disney Fan Gathering event and their Charity auction happening on July 19th. The best part is that it is for people who can't be at MagicMeets. "The Dream Team Project (http://www.disneyworldtrivia.com/Dream-Team-2008-Auction.html) raises money to help send seriously ill children and their families to Walt Disney World through The Make-A-Wish Foundation® of America. Their annual silent auction at MagicMeets raised $9000 last year, and this year they hope to do even more to bring smiles to the faces of children who need it most.

"WDW Today podcast will be broadcasting live during MagicMeets. Co-host Mike Newell (Mouse World Radio) came up with a great idea to include a tie in to the Dream Team Charity Auction during the MagicMeets Live Show.

"Any donations made to the FirstGiving web page for the DWT Dream Team between 9:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on July 19th will be announced on the WDW Today live show podcast. The FirstGiving website, http://www.firstgiving.com/dwtdreamteam allows guests to make donations securely using a credit card.

"All donations made during the time period will be included in the Auction total announced at MagicMeets. When you fill in your donation, please include your internet community affiliation in the comment field, so that you can be thanked properly on the air.

"Check out the WDW Today podcast website, http://www.wdwtoday.com/ for details on how to join them for this and all their live shows. They will have a chat room going during the broadcast, which is always lots of fun, and sometimes have a live video feed direct from MagicMeets.

"For people attending MagicMeets, or those who want to see what they will be missing, check out the DWT Dream Team Blog, http://www.disneyworldtrivia.com/Dream-Team-Blog/ for some previews and behind-the-scenes peeks. Starting on July 1st, previews of all the auction lots will be available on the DisneyWorldTrivia.com forums. http://www.disneyworldtrivia.com/forums/dream-team-project/17074-2008-dream-team-auction-previews.html Once again, you must be present to bid on the auction items. There are no phone or online bids.

"The Dream Team Project is really looking forward to this event and would like to thank Mike Newell for the great idea and WDW Today's help implementing it. Together we can spread some Disney magic and make a difference in the lives of seriously ill children. "If you have any questions, please email Pat@disneyworldtrivia.com"

We may not be able to join in the fun at Camp Hill, but we can join in making a child's dream come true. I'll be phoning in my contribution while in route to meet a friend in Ashville. Join me by making a donation on Saturday. You'll feel "really swell!"

Best wishes.

More to follow...

All In The Family: Part Two

I sat down this evening thinking I would update the running Where In The World photo series. But I don’t know, I am feeling a little nostalgic this evening and when I get nostalgic I think mostly about friends and family.

So, the photo can wait. Although, I do have a photograph of a hidden Spaceship Earth I want to share. I have more about that at a later date.

Now for nostalgia.

As many of you know I was in Passamaquoddy for the 4th of July Cookout. Had I not been there, I would have either been with some of family on a lake in Michigan, or in my mother’s backyard with other family. Notice the trend? Wherever Doc is, family and friends are there also.

But about my mom. Every year she has company during the 4th of July, and the 5th, 6th, 7th, and so on and so on. There are brothers, sisters, aunts, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and every now and then a niece or nephew will show up. I house is packed. I know; her house is right behind mine. And food? You could feed the whole neighborhood with what comes out of Mama Doc’s kitchen.

So, what does this have with Disney? Well, nothing really, I just want to honor my mother. It doesn’t have to be Mother’s Day for us to honor our moms.

I will say about a little about mom and Disney though. In a post some time ago I mentioned how my mom calls herself “my enabler.” And she is. She’ll call the house and ask, “Are you doing anything?” “Well, not right now mom.” “Well, walk over here a minute. I got something for you.” Nine times out of ten it will be something related to my Obsession. It may be a little figurine, or a magazine with a article or perhaps a recipe from Disneyland or Walt Disney World. But then sometimes there will be larger items, like once she had Buzz & Friends Pixar Characters Train.

Mama Doc is also my defender. Not everyone can appreciate the true magic of Disney like we geeks. My grandmother didn’t understand. Likewise for some friends of the family and so forth. I know you can relate to this. My mother (who by the way, doesn’t “get it”) will always defend my love for Disney. Her answer, “It is something he loves and there are a whole lot of other things he could be doing that you may wish he wouldn’t be doing.” That usually ends the conversation.

I could go on and on, but I read somewhere that posts should not be over-long.

But let me close by encouraging you in two areas. First, seek out the “enablers” and “defenders” in your life and give them a big hug and say “Thank you.” We, the B.P.O.M., are free to be who we are because of these wonderful people. Second, if you still have mom with you, call her up, say “Thanks, and I love you mom.” She doesn’t need to know why. You do, and that it all that matters for now.

More to follow…

Arrival for the Doc "Fifty In Disney" Celebration - April 2007

Where In The World: Part Two

Mrs. Doc and I arrived back in town late this past Sunday after a wonderful Fourth of July weekend in Passamaquoddy! Anytime that you can spend with good friends, enjoying the hospitality of Doc Terminus (The Other Doc) and all the good people of P-quoddy, is time well spent. Some of the stories that were told around the table at Sanddollar Ella's. Well, let's just say, good stories and good times.

And The Voice of Liberty! Wow, what can you say? Great concert. But I was sad to learn that we missed the evening events over at the Passamaquoddy Music Hall.

But looking back, it seems that the last installment of Where In The World has some people stumped. In fact, not many people are venturering a guess. And that is not hard to understand. After all, we're looking at a light fixture found somewhere in a rather large expanse of land. So, here are a few hints.

1. The photograph previously published was taken with natural light. The one found below is of the same fixture, but taken with a flash.

2. If you were to turn 180 degrees, you would see another identical fixture.

Um.

Road Trip: Passamaquoddy

I do enjoy the drives that Mrs. Doc and I take. They allow us to slow down the usual hectic pace of life and share in some wonderful conversations. They are worth the high price of gas to have these hours to reconnect. Because, let’s face it, life can be busy, making these “little wonders” so important.

We recently had one of these occasions during our drive up to Passamaquoddy for the 4th of July Cookout. Mrs. Doc asked, “What is your favorite Fourth of July memory?”

Wow! What a question. As I thought about it, I began to realize that I don’t have that quintessential 4th of July memory. So after agreeing that I have lived a sheltered life, at least where the 4th of July is concerned, I began to think about what memories I do have of the Fourth. There aren’t many that stand out.

Yes, I remember running around as a child with the different colored sparklers and watching “snakes” grow on the pavement. I thought smoke bombs were neat. It always seemed that my friends in my hometown in southeast Missouri had a supply of these on hand (Fourth of July or not), whenever I would go there to visit as a child. We would come home from the Saturday matinees and re-enact the latest James Bond film or pretend we were The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Yes, I know, I am dating myself with that one. And I digress. The point is that smoke bombs were neat.

As a teenager I remember having bottle rocket battles. That was kind of cool because as every one knows, when you are a teenager you’re “20 feet tall and bullet-proof!” No firecracker on a stick could possibly hurt you.

Once during a Fourth of July break in production of a play I was in, we all convened to a fellow cast member’s house to an afternoon pool party. It turned out that no one wanted to brave the enormous crowds that gather on the riverfront in Nashville for the city’s annual celebration. So, we held our own improvised celebration, firing roman candles across the pool, while humming Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture.

The Overture! Viola! That is my memory. I remember the 1812 Overture!

My mom tells the story of how as a child I could hum the entire 1812 Overture! I suppose there were nursery rhymes and children’s songs sprinkled in here and there. But I could go practically note-for-note on Tchaikovsky’s commemorative opus. I remember I would lie in front of the family console stereo. It had a blonde wood finish and an amber colored light that indicated the power was on. At the age of four I thought the people who made the sounds lived in the stereo and if I looked close enough through the light I could see them. I would stay there for hours listening to the light phrases of the first section and the celebration as the cannonade fired with every downbeat of the finale.

As the years went by that piece of music stayed with me. I remember watching Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra on television once performing the Overture at the Hatch Shell in Boston.

And then one time in 1989 some friends and I changed our minds about going to Breckenridge for a ski weekend and instead drove to Walt Disney World. It was the first time that I witnessed Illuminations. There at the end of Act III, was the Overture serving as the Finale. All my memories associated with the music came flooding back. It was magic to me.

So, my wife is right. Perhaps my Fourths have been sheltered in terms of creating that one special memory. But I have that piece of symphonic splendor that I have carried since childhood. It is a work that I associate with the annual Independence Day celebrations. I know that on Friday night, down on the banks of the Cumberland River, the Nashville Symphony will be performing this celebratory masterpiece while shells burst overhead and a waterfall of fireworks cascade over the side of the Victory Memorial Bridge.

I won’t be there. Mrs. Doc and I will be found setting on a blanket near the band shell, listening to the Passamaquoddy Philharmonic. I only hope they play the Overture.

Well, there you go. I have a memory now.

As we neared the outskirts of P-quoddy our conversation drifted from the upcoming holiday to herring whips and crab burgers. Oh, and my strategies for increasing my score in Buoy Store Minnow Mania. The key, I think, is to jump start your overall score by doing well in the Frat House room. I don’t know, but am going to test my theory during the long weekend.

Happy 4th of July everyone!