Dancing and Disneyland

Last week I went to Disneyland with a writer friend. I hadn't planned to do it. I'd planned to save my money and stay professionally focused at the American Library Association Conference in Anaheim. But Disneyland was just across the street and my cousin and my daughter and her baby met me. The baby and I danced around a fountain. Later, he chased birds. They went home at a sane hour and friend, Fran, and I looked at each other and said, "Let's go." We went to Disneyland at six at night and rode rollercoasters, watched fireworks, ate ice cream, and found some clones of Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean. The weather was perfect and we had the best time. Now this is entirely out of character for me (ok no one out there say cheap - I heard you - or self-sacrificing, not me) but I did it. I smiled at the man in the ticket booth and happily accepted his assessment that I was a senior. Silver hair is good for something. I let myself loose to play. Fred made me do it. He went and died and I remembered that life is short and you might as well play, and jump for joy while you can.

Intro #2 The Puppeteer: I can't go to Disneyland without thinking of my other daughter who loves puppets and politics equally. When she was little she was so scared of those big puppets in Pirates of the Caribbean that she tried to jump out of the boat. Since she moved to Wisconsin she is scared of thunderstorms.

Info #2 Thunderstorms: In the Midwest they really do look like black walls of clouds. My daughter, the puppeteer, says the ones that create tornados look green. I didn't see any green storms when we drove across Michigan this month, but we did meet a lot of hail. I also read once that you can set your TV to channel 13 and a tornado will make static on that channel. I'd check with better sources before depending on either of these as cues to take cover.

Opinion #2: I generally prefer puppets to politicians.

Books #2: I say let's stick with dogs for the moment. I have a couple more suggestions to add to the list from the comments. Anyone read a new dog book, as in this year's pub date? And what about that Dorothy in Wizard of Oz? Was she your favorite? I preferred Toto. I can't pick a favorite from the three sidekicks and the flying monkeys scared me. Did you have nightmares about tornados after reading that book?