1. Splash Mountain: Take a flume ride adventure aboard a hollowed-out log through swamps and bayous within an 87-foot-high mountain as you enjoy the crazy antics of Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox and Brer Bear from Disney’s 1946 classic movie Song of the South. Along the way, prepare to get soaked as you plunge five free-falling stories at a 45-degree angle into a watery oasis at 40 miles per hour!

2. Pirates of the Caribbean: Cruise through secret caves, witness exciting sea battles and view a bustling Caribbean island town that has become overrun with a host of unruly audio-animatronic pirates.

3. Haunted Mansion: Take an approximately eight-minute-long ride in a “Doom Buggy” through the Haunted Mansion courtesy of a state-of-the-art Omnimover ride system, along with some great special effects and amazing audio-animatronics.

4. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: One of Frontierland’s most popular attractions, this thrilling roller coaster (in the form of a runaway train) twists and turns its way through an Old West mining town with loads of surprises along the way.

5. Space Mountain: Blast off into the darkness of outer space as you twist and turn, shooting past stars and satellites during the classic Space Mountain indoor roller coaster ride!

6. Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin: Join Buzz Lightyear as a “Junior Space Ranger” and help pilot your Star Cruiser through the galaxy – zapping aliens along the way.

7. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: Visit Pooh and all of his friends – including Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore, Kanga, Rabbit, Baby Roo and Owl – and join them on a fun-filled adventure through the Hundred-Acre Wood

8. Jungle Cruise: The approximately 10-minute cruise features a hilarious narrated river tour through various jungle scenarios in three continents: the Nile in Africa, the Mekong in Asia and the Amazon in South America.

9. It’s A Small World: Take a leisurely boat ride that magically transports you through the countries of the world as hundreds of international dolls sing and dance to the favorite childhood song.

10. Hall of Presidents: The attraction begins with a short patriotic film that traces the history of the United States Constitution and early presidential milestones, and ends with a stage full of life-size, audio-animatronic figures of each of the 43 U.S. presidents.

Seeking great deals on spacious and comfortable accommodations that provide convenient access to Walt Disney World Resort? Look no farther than Westgate Resorts! For more information about Westgate Resorts, visit www.westgatedestinations.com.

Halloween and Br’er Rabbit

More Random Bits

This article start another occasional series on this blog. One in which I intend to either tell or reprint an old tale or legend. It seems to me that many of the old stories that I grew up with are being forgotten and anyway i have of keeping them alive I will. Especially if it illustrates a point.

I just spent two hours combing articles that would explain to me why this story might or might not be racist. Was it a story told by slaves in the American South prior to The War Between the States. From what I understand yes. Were the story later collected by a white man and presented to the populace as told by a kindly old former slave named Uncle Remus. The answer once again would be yes. However, I also would answer yes to whether or not the character that people hearing the story  was smarter and wiser than any other character in the story.

On top of that I can’t think of a better analogy for the way many people deal with questions of ego and negativity than this story. If any of you find it reprehensible that I tell this story, my apologies.

Br’er Rabbit and the Tar Baby

(adopted from a story by Joel Chandler Harris, itself adopted from African American folktales)

Br’er Rabbit was always playing tricks on the other animals and getting them to do what he wanted and Br’er Fox had had enough. He decided he was going to teach that rabbit a lesson if it was the last thing he did.

Br’er Fox finally came up with a plan. He got some tar and he mixed it with turpentine and he put it into the shape of a baby. He stuck clothes and a hat on it and put it right in Br’er Rabbit’s path.

A little while later Br’er Rabbit came hopping along.

Seeing a strange on his path. Br’er Rabbit said “Hey, what’s up?” The stranger did not reply

Trying again, Br’er Rabbit said “Nice weather, we’re having.” Still no answer

“Well ya don’t have to be so rude, if you don’t want to talk, fine, just move aside so I can pass”

Still no answer

Getting impatient and angry Br’er Rabbit pushed the tar baby, only to find his hands wer stuck.

He couldn’t move

“Let me go, let me go, or I’ll give you such a kick” and he did.

His foot got stuck too.

Br’er Fox came out from behind the bush. He was laughing fit to bust a gut. “Now what do we have here, you seem stuck.”

Br’er Rabbit looked a bit scared as he knew that Br’er Fox had quite a few scores to settle with him.

“Hey Br’er Fox, I don’t suppose you’d help me out of here”

“Are you kidding? The only thing I’ll help you to is an early grave.”

“OK I understand, but do it with your gun or pluck my fur out or something. Just please… please… don’t….”

“Don’t what?” Br’er Fox said, a mite suspicious but wondering just how good his revenge might be

“Please whatever you do don’t toss me into the briar p-p-patch!”, Br’er Rabbit shuddered and with his eyes he pleaded.

“Why would I do that?”

“No, No, you couldn’t be so cruel! you wouldn’t, to heave me into the briar patch, that I’m so afraid of stuck to this monstrosity where I’d starve”

Br’er Fox smiled and laughed an evil laugh”

“Heh heh heh, OK into the briar patch you go” He picked up Br’er Rabbit, Tar Baby and all and heaved him into the Briar Patch

Br’er Rabbit screamed and it was music to Br’er Fox’s ears. The music hit a jarring note a few moments later when the screaming turned to laughter.

Br’er Rabbit said as he ran past, “Thank you kindly, Br’er Fox, I was born and bred in the briar patch, born and bred and know it to be the perfect place to get stuff unstuck from you”

Br’er Fox just beat his head again the ground.

Whenever people start talking to me about killing off their egos or not dealing with their egos, ego bad, materialism bad, gotta get rid of it, I get reminded of this story. It seems to me that the things in ourselves that we fight against the most become our own personal tar babies, the more we strike out at them and try to kill them off, the more we attach ourselves to them in a negative way.
It is only when we focus on other things that we are able to free ourselves.

Stray Thought: I think it is a reasonable bet that Bugs Bunny has some common origins with Br’er Rabbit. I wonder how many of this contemporary Warner Brothers and Disney cartoons do also?

One hot summer day, Brer Rabbit was a-walking down the path in the forest, minding his own business, watching his feet, and not noticing anything at all, when he heard a right startling crack.  He glanced up real fast, but didn’t see any one.  At the same time, Brer Rabbit noticed that there was a large fox trap on the path in front of him.

            “A fox trap in the middle of my forest??” Brer rabbit was mighty surprised when he saw that there fox trap, and he set to a-wondering who would have had the nerve to do such a thing.

            What Brer Rabbit didn’t know was that Brer Fox was a-sitting behind a big ol’ oak tree near where Brer Rabbit was.  He had been the one to put that there fox trap on that path.  “I’ll get that there darned rabbit this time, if it’s the last thing I do.” Brer Fox thought to himself.  He started waiting for just the right moment, and when Brer Rabbit was just about to walk past the fox trap, he pounced right out from behind the tree, and scared Brer Rabbit right out of his wits!  Brer Rabbit was right startled, and he fell right over and his fine, bushy rabbit’s tail got caught in the fox trap.

            “Ha!” Brer Fox laughed and laughed to see Brer Rabbit a-sitting there, his bushy tail caught in a trap like a guilty hand in a cookie jar.  “I said I’d get you Brer Rabbit, and now, by golly, I getted you!  Oh I said I would some day get you, and now I have, Brer Rabbit!” The fox was so pleased with himself that he sat down hard, laughing till his stomach ached right badly.

            “Brer Fox, you don’t look so good.”  Brer Rabbit told him when Brer fox stopped laughing to catch his breath.

            Brer Fox looked over real sharp at Brer Rabbit, and said “What do you mean, Brer Rabbit?”

            “Well you’ve gone all red, Brer Fox.  I’m a-thinking you might be sick.”  Brer rabbit tutted sadly.  “I’m sorry Brer Fox, but I can’t run for the doctor.  See my tail so caught in this here fox trap, and it’s mighty heavy.  You’d better run for the doctor yourself.”

            “I look sick?” Brer Fox looked worried.  “Brer Rabbit, I think your right.  But if I run for the doctor, I might get more sick!  What can I do, Brer Rabbit?”

            “Brer Fox, for a case like you, theres one way for sure to tell if your sick.  Run all around in circles, and if you begin to feel hot, dizzy and sweaty, then your definitely very sick and you need to fetch a doctor right quick.”

            Brer Fox did as he was told, running around and around in circles till he was mighty dizzy, and in no time at all he was hot and sweaty too.  “Brer Rabbit I am sick!  What can I do?”

            “Well see Brer Fox, I just don’t know.  You can’t go get the doctor, and I can’t either cuz of this darned fox trap.”  Brer Rabbit concealed a smile as Brer Fox jumped to his feet.

            “Hold still, Brer Rabbit. I’m a-setting you loose.  Go fetch the doctor for me. I think I’m real sick!”  By now the fox was feeling very hot and sweaty, and dizzy besides.  He opened up the fox trap and let Brer Rabbit loose, but as soon as he was free, Brer Rabbit turned right around and pushed Brer Fox right into that Fox trap.  Brer Fox let out a mighty yelp.

            “Help me!  I’m a-caught in this here fox trap!”  He glared at Brer Rabbit, and snarled, “I knew I never should have trusted you, Brer Rabbit.  Now I’m a-sick and I aint got no doctor to look after me, and I’m caught in a fox trap!  Oh how I hate you Brer Rabbit!”

            Brer Rabbit let out a might laugh and said, “There weren’t never nothing wrong with you, Brer Fox, except maybe that you’re lacking brains, but you wasn’t never sick!”  Then with a last triumphant laugh, Brer Rabbit hopped away.

            It took Brer Fox hours to get himself out of that fox trap, and when he went home, and brooded and plotted his next attempt on Brer Rabbit.  This time, he was a-planning on using a bear cage…

~Watson

Brer Rabbit

Brer Rabbit is the good guy rabbit from the movie “Song of the South” and the Disney Parks attraction Splash Mountain.

In Florida, your best bet for meeting Brer Rabbit is at the Magic Kingdom.  You might find him in Frontierland, perhaps in front of his attraction.  You might also see him near the Toontown Train Station.   He also tends to get out a little more for Halloween.  He also appears sometimes at Animal Kingdom near the entrance.

Where have you met Brer Rabbit in the world of Disney?

Nope.

I’m not that kind of person to put Toby Keith on this blog. I’m a very proud mid-Boomer, Jones Generation type. I’m not a flag waver. For me, patriotism goes deeper than that. It’s not a religion. I thought about putting Brother Ray Charles on singing, “America the Beautiful,” but he seemed to be surrounded by flags and/or spotlights and showbiz while he was singing, and I was put off. It would have been best if Charles had simply been singing against a backdrop of people digging in the earth, growing things, taking care of children, building something good, laughing. And forget the screeching eagles with talons extended, the soldiers who haven’t been wounded yet, the soldiers riding motorcycles, and the flags, and the mountains with no valleys.

Instead, we have another patriot, James Marshall Hendrix, a.k.a. Jimi. I’m willing to forgive Jimi for sounding like Limbaugh and O’Reilly; it turns out that he wasn’t very appreciative of some of his white hippie, peacenik audiences in a recently released interview. That was coming from his indoctrination as an Army paratrooper. He did, however, evince sympathy for soldiers in Vietnam in the same interview he disparaged those who wanted peace. He didn’t get it–that those same peaceniks blowing weed (as he did) were trying to get those guys out of Vietnam. Or perhaps, he was doing a Brer Rabbit–that is, trying to pacify those elements back in the States that didn’t like how he turned on white kids with just his Stratocaster. No doubt, the FBI and the CIA had tabs on Jimi Hendrix for that reason alone.

This is from the Woodstock film–of course, he came on last, waking the kids up who had been rained on, who had had no dinner, who were coming out of both slumber and celebration, to find breakfast brought to them in their damp sleeping bags.

Hope your Fourth has been a great one.

N. A difficult problem that is only aggravated by attempts to solve it. (Oxford American Dictionary)

I  accept that plantation reasonably conjures up images of slavery.  I am dismayed but accepting that a word like niggardly, which has no racial connotations, might be better avoided.  I am thoroughly dismayed, however, that a word like tar baby, one which celebrates the African American culture, is somehow deemed racist.

Tar baby is most often recognized from Joel Chandler Harris’s Uncle Remus stories, but it dates back much further than that.  Historian Lawrence W. Levine, in his book Black Culture and Black Consciousness, discussed its roll as a cautionary tale for young blacks during slavery.  In the dangerous world that  slaves were raised in, caution and cleverness were key skills for them to learn, far more important than brute force and defiance.  The Br’er Rabbit tales served to teach young slave children those skills.  Br’er Rabbit always found ways to outfox his enemies, who surrounded him on all sides.

The Tar Baby was a sticky doll created by Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear.  When Rabbit meets the Tar Baby, and gets no response, he kicks it for rudeness and finds himself ensnared.  All of his best attempts to free himself only trap him the worse.  It is only when the other forest animals came to kill him that Br’er Rabbit was able to trick them into thinking the worst punishment would be to throw him in the thicket where he can escape home.

Somewhere along the line, however, tar baby has also come to have negative connotations toward blacks, despite the completely ass-backward nature of the insult (far worse than the turnaround of Stowe’s poor Uncle Tom).  Even though the story quite possibly stems from black roots, black leaders have attacked politicians for using the reference as it was intended to be used in the story.  Mitt Romney in 2006 said of the Big Dig disaster, “The best thing politically would be to stay as far away from that tar baby as I can.”  Civil Rights activist Larry Jones was one of many who criticized him, saying “Tar baby is a totally inappropriate phrase in the 21st century.” Do your homework, Mr. Jones! A white man was paying homage to black folklore! Even CBS News, my source for the details,  gets it wrong on the website, attributing the story to Harris, as if he invented it himself.

Virginia Republican Tom Davis found himself in the same hot water over this word two years later.  Here is one site criticizing him for that choice of words.

Is this just a way for Democrats to paint Republicans as racist? As a staunch Democrat, I think the party can do better than that.

In a society that does not give nearly enough credit to the contributions of black culture, it is very sad to me one such contribution would be rejected by the community itself.  It is also sad to me that in a society that has so many clear examples of discrimination and racism against blacks, that leaders feel the need to invent slights out of words with deeper meaning.

Walt Disney World’s four world-class theme parks – Disney’s Magic Kingdom Park , Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park – each boast not-to-be-missed thrill rides with names like Expedition Everest, Rock ‘n Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Mission: SPACE, Test Track, Soarin’ and Splash Mountain. Be sure to check height and medical restrictions that are listed at the entrance to each of Disney’s thrill rides.

One of the most popular Orlando-area thrill rides, Expedition Everest, can be found in Asia at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Expedition Everest, which towers nearly 200 feet high, is a thrilling train adventure through icy canyons and mountain caverns toward a terrifying encounter with the ferocious Yeti or abominable snowman. You must be at least 44 inches tall to ride Expedition Everest.

At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, thrill seekers have their choice of Rock ‘n Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, a classic indoor roller coaster that features classic songs from the legendary rock group; and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, which features a scary, 13-story plummet aboard a faulty elevator within a decrepit, 199-foot-tall Hollywood hotel. You must be at least 48 inches tall to ride Rock ‘n Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith and 40 inches tall to ride The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.

Epcot is home to Mission: SPACE, which opened in 2003 and takes you on a simulated space flight to Mars (complete with motion sickness bags) at the “ International Space Training Center.” Each member of the four-person crew is assigned a specific role – pilot, commander, navigator and engineer. Adjacent to Mission: SPACE lies Test Track, a six-passenger vehicle that cruises onto 50-degree banked curves at speeds up to 65 miles per hour. You must be at least 44 inches tall to ride Mission: SPACE and 40 inches tall to ride Test Track. At Soarin’, state-of-the-art technology allows you to take a bird’s eye view of California’s spectacular scenery, including the Golden Gate Bridge, Redwood forest, Yosemite National Park, Napa Valley, Disneyland and much more.

Space Mountain, the original thrill ride at Walt Disney World, still draws huge crowds in Tomorrowland at Disney’s Magic Kingdom Park. Two roller coaster tracks wind their way through the 183-foot mountain at speeds of 28 miles per hour in total darkness. You must be at least 44 inches tall to ride Space Mountain. Two other classic thrill rides at Disney’s Magic Kingdom, Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, lie within Frontierland. Splash Mountain takes you on a wild flume ride as you visit characters such as Brer Rabbit, Brer Bear and Brer Fox from Disney’s 1946 classic, Song of the South. However, the real highlight of Splash Mountain is the five-story free fall at a 45-degree angle into the splash pool below at 40 miles per hour. Adjacent to Splash Mountain lies Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, a “runaway train” that winds its way through an Old West mining town around mountains, through caves and over sulfur pools. You must be at least 40 inches tall to ride both Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

When you plan your itinerary around Disney’s popular thrill rides, make sure you take advantage of Disney’s FASTPASS, a free reservation system that will help you avoid long lines. To use FASTPASS, simply visit the FASTPASS ticket machine at the entrance to the ride and insert your admission ticket. The FASTPASS ticket you receive will indicate a time frame that allows you to return later without waiting in line.

For more information about Disney World thrill rides, visit www.orlando-florida.net. For the latest deals on accommodations at Westgate Resort properties near Walt Disney World Resort, visit www.westgatedestinations.com.

I have always loved the tales of Uncle Remus…Brer Rabbit, Brer fox, Brer Bear, and so on.  Last week, while in Big Lots, I found a DVD, “The Adventures of Brer Rabbit.”   On it, the classic, Uncle Remus stories are updated a bit, but still retain Brer Rabbit’s rascally ways.

While babysitting Noah and Brennan on Saturday, I decided to give it a try.  It was lively enough to give them a few laughs, but the “wisdom” of the stories went over their heads.  I, on the other hand, was amazed to hear the words and recognize the attitudes of some very famous politicians.  I never would have guessed that our President and many other political leaders went to the school of Brer Rabbit.

In the animated stories, a little girl witnesses Brer Rabbit’s tricky ways.  Finally, at the end, she asks Brer Rabbit how he manages to fool so many of the animals.  His answer is so very up-to-date!  He told her that he always…gives them what they think they want.  Then he has them, and there’s no turning back.  Sound familiar? 

Be careful what you think you want.  You might get it, and then you’ll be sorry.

What if winter lasted, like, 22 years, & you’d never known SPRING & then everything got warm & green & gorgeous & you’d be, like, WOW…? http://twitter.com/LifeIsPoetry

It is good to be safe. It is better to be strong. It is best to be bold in the power of God. —Sister Alma Rose

‘Everything Is New’

Sister Alma Rose loves the vicissitudes of the natural world, large and small. She is elated when Mother Nature shows her fangs — not, of course, when there is devastation, but when there is that wild violence in the sky, the winds that turn umbrellas inside-out, the blizzards, even the heaviness of heat and humidity in August.

Ladybug, also called ladybird

She is equally fascinated by a tiny red ladybug on a bright-green leaf, by a swelling iris bud that wasn’t there yesterday… by moss and mushrooms… by the iridescent yellow-green web, that lasts only a day or so, of treetops in the valley below in springtime. I caught her weeping early one evening — Sister Alma Rose never weeps —  because the cicadas had started their scritching, which signals the beginning of the end of summer. 

Iris sanguinea (photo: BS Thurner Hof)

She might be on a first-name basis with every blade of grass in her faerie-garden, and feel physical pain when sturdy foliage is trampled by careless feet, but she is no friend of the dandelion or the bindweed, any more than she honors the heartbeats of roaches (and is it really necessary for there to be four thousand roach species?) or centipedes, though she concedes their essential place in the natural cycle.

Where there is human habitation, Sister Alma Rose says, “Voracious weeds and sly creeping things thrive only in entropy and neglect.”

Br’er Rabbit, the Anchorite

One of Hilltop’s most colorful citizens is a 30-ish man whose whose real name is Arthur Arthur but who goes by the name “Br’er Rabbit, the Anchorite.” That is how he introduces himself: “How do  you do?  I am Br’er Rabbit, the Anchorite.”

St. Anthony the Great, father of Christian monasticism and early anchorite

Br’er Rabbit is so pale you could probably see his internal organs through his skin, except that you can’t see much of his skin because he wears robes made out of sheets that he buys at the Hilltop Thrift Shoppe. He cuts a hole in the sheet so that he can pull it over his head, and he fastens up the sides with big safety pins. When the sheet is white, it always makes me think of some kid bursting into his house after school and yelling, “Mom, I forgot to tell you, I’m going to a Halloween party in half an hour and I need a ghost costume.”

But Br’er Rabbit can’t always get white sheets at the Hilltop Thrift Shoppe, and I have seen him in Dukes of Hazzard robes and Care Bear robes and even Dora the Explorer robes, which he wears with as much dignity as it is possible to muster when you are clothed in a  cartoon sheet held together with safety pins.

Me, Fanny McElroy

Br’er Rabbit is not quite an anchorite in the medieval sense. He lives in a tidy little house owned by the Saints Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church, but it is hardly a “cell” of the type that anchorites have historically inhabited, and Br’er Rabbit is allowed to come and go, unlike in the old days, when anchorites had to stay in their cells, although some anchorites lived as hermits in forests and fended for themselves, growing their own food and so forth.

But Br’er Rabbit does the work of the anchorite, which is to pray as a profession, I guess you’d say; and to look at him, aglow in his pallor and his Care Bear robe, you can easily believe that he has a direct line to God.

An anchorite's cell

Here is the thing about Br’er Rabbit, though: He has vowed to “harm no living thing.” He has a small solarium where he grows herbs and flowers and other plants, and I have sat in that room with Sister Alma Rose and Br’er Rabbit when the room was knee-deep in crazed leaping and chirping crickets, which seems to delight Br’er Rabbit but which I find very unnerving, especially when one hops onto my face, and I wonder if I have unknowingly sprayed myself with cricket pheromones, and sometimes I feel cross enough to say, though I never do, “Br’er Rabbit, I know that you take antibiotics when you have a bacterial infection, and your kitchen and bathroom reek of Clorox, which kills a gazillion bacteria with a single swipe,” but I love dear, gentle Br’er Rabbit and, anyway, I don’t want him to stop praying for me, not that he would, he is far too kind, even though he does murder bacteria.

A growing colony of E. coli cells (A false-colored image from fluorescence microscopy of a growing colony of E coli cells. Taken from "Aging and Death in E. coli" Citation: (2005) Aging and Death in E. coli. PLoS Biol 3(2): e58 doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0030058 the discussion of a research paper by Stewart EJ, Madden R, Paul G, Taddei F (2005). "Aging and death in an organism that reproduces by morphologically symmetric division" PLoS Biol. 3 (2): e45)

Sister Alma Rose likes to pray and meditate with Br’er Rabbit, and she usually asks me to go with her, and I usually do, and if you are thinking, “Why would a normal kid want to spend two hours praying with a guy decked out in Dora the Explorer sheets instead of going to the mall with her friends or playing volleyball or SOMETHING?” the only answers I can give you are (a) Hilltop doesn’t have a mall, and (b) listening to Br’er Rabbit and Sister Alma Rose pray is like lying on a beach on a warm afternoon and hearing the waves lap the shore and being lulled into a sort of certainty that, even though you woke up with three new pustulating zits this morning, everything is going to be okay.

‘Like the first morning’

It was in just such a dreamy haze of contentment that Sister Alma Rose and I began our trek up the hill toward home from Br’er Rabbit’s little house on what had been a spectacular October afternoon, but in the time that Sister Alma Rose and I had spent with Br’er Rabbit, the temperature had dropped ten degrees or so and the sky had darkened and the wind was whipping the dry leaves into small tornadoes. Thunder and lightning had been comfortably distant when we started out, but during our twenty-minute walk the storm moved ever closer and the wind blew ever harder and colder, tugging at our clothes and throwing dust in our faces.

Sister Alma Rose was practically dancing with excitement. I have no fear of storms, but I enjoy them more when I’m not soaked to the skin, so I made a mad dash for Sister Alma Rose’s porch, while she all but did pirouettes up the driveway, and just as she sat down in her grass-green wicker chair the rain began, and it was not a benign little “let’s go walking in the rain” type of shower, it was a gullywasher.

“Just imagine, Fanny,” Sister Alma Rose said contemplatively, “that y’all had never witnessed a storm before… never seen lightning or heard thunder or watched the wind thrash the trees.”

“I’d run screaming to Daddy and make him hide with me under the bed,” I said. But knowing, as I do, that storms come and go and that they are usually beneficial; and having some knowledge of storms and lightning and electricity and how to count the seconds between the lightning and the thunder to calculate how far away the center of the storm is, all of which Daddy has explained to his children, taking all of us out onto the porch during violent weather; I do not mind thunderstorms unless the electric power goes out, and even then, Mama lights candles like it’s Christmas at church and Daddy builds a fire in the fireplace if it’s chilly, and it’s like we’re pioneers and I feel as if I should be embroidering a sampler or something.

Thunderstorm over Arlington, Virginia (photo: POSTDLF)

But this time, taking my cue from Sister Alma Rose, inspired by her wonderment, I watched the turbulent sky with new eyes and enjoyed the earthy fragrance of rain soaking the dusty ground, and it was kind of like watching a scary movie (PG-13 scary, not R-scary), when the hairs of your arms stand on end but you know, because you’re eating popcorn and licorice twists and you keep having to stand up and let people by who have to go to the bathroom, that it’s just a movie and everything will turn out all right in the end.

Anyhow, what Sister Alma Rose is trying to teach me is to always look at the world with new eyes and to greet every morning as if it is the first morning, and to notice things I might otherwise take for granted, like how the sun shifts in the sky so that the light is different every day. With so much to be astonished by, Sister Alma Rose says, there is no reason for anybody ever to be bored.

Here is a secret about Sister Alma Rose: She wears Crocs. 

1. Splash Mountain: Take a flume ride adventure aboard a hollowed-out log through swamps and bayous within an 87-foot-high mountain as you enjoy the crazy antics of Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox and Brer Bear from Disney’s 1946 classic movie Song of the South. Along the way, prepare to get soaked as you plunge five free-falling stories at a 45-degree angle into a watery oasis at 40 miles per hour!

2. Pirates of the Caribbean: Cruise through secret caves, witness exciting sea battles and view a bustling Caribbean island town that has become overrun with a host of unruly audio-animatronic pirates.

3. Haunted Mansion: Take an approximately eight-minute-long ride in a “Doom Buggy” through the Haunted Mansion courtesy of a state-of-the-art Omnimover ride system, along with some great special effects and amazing audio-animatronics.

4. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: One of Frontierland’s most popular attractions, this thrilling roller coaster (in the form of a runaway train) twists and turns its way through an Old West mining town with loads of surprises along the way.

5. Space Mountain: Blast off into the darkness of outer space as you twist and turn, shooting past stars and satellites during the classic Space Mountain indoor roller coaster ride!

6. Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin: Join Buzz Lightyear as a “Junior Space Ranger” and help pilot your Star Cruiser through the galaxy – zapping aliens along the way.

7. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: Visit Pooh and all of his friends – including Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore, Kanga, Rabbit, Baby Roo and Owl – and join them on a fun-filled adventure through the Hundred-Acre Wood

8. Jungle Cruise: The approximately 10-minute cruise features a hilarious narrated river tour through various jungle scenarios in three continents: the Nile in Africa, the Mekong in Asia and the Amazon in South America.

9. It’s A Small World: Take a leisurely boat ride that magically transports you through the countries of the world as hundreds of international dolls sing and dance to the favorite childhood song.

10. Hall of Presidents: The attraction begins with a short patriotic film that traces the history of the United States Constitution and early presidential milestones, and ends with a stage full of life-size, audio-animatronic figures of each of the 42 U.S. presidents.

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I went to the Flobots concert the other night and it their show was actually fantastic, those guys and girl really do have a ton of talent. Obviously they were not the only ones who performed: Afroflow and The Chain Gang of 1974 were there too.

Afroflow was actually very good, very original as well, but I preferred The Chain Gang of 1974. In fact, that is who I went to see. It seems that not everyone would agree with me because the crowd seemed to hate them and even mock them, there was some jackass that kept flipping them off. It was very rude and it ruined the show for me, so uncool. I guess they just couldn’t get the crowd into it, which was very unfortunate because they are a really great band.

Before the Flobots went on, I met Brer Rabbit (he is the lead vocalist) by accident… Ha ha, he came up to me randomly and asked me to help him pass some flyers, but stupidly I did not even recognize him. Minutes later, they started their set and that’s when I realized Brer and the person I had just talked to were the same. Needless to say, I felt stupid.

What is really amazing about the Flobots is their Violist, she is so fucking AWESOME. She makes me regret ever quitting the Violin. Plus she has a great voice.

One last thing, I’ve been listening to a really great band lately called Halloween / Alaska. Check them out they are great!

Pretty funny, but certainly informative!

Walt Disney World’s four world-class theme parks – Disney’s Magic Kingdom Park , Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park – each boast not-to-be-missed thrill rides with names like Expedition Everest, Rock ‘n Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Mission: SPACE, Test Track, Soarin’ and Splash Mountain. Be sure to check height and medical restrictions that are listed at the entrance to each of Disney’s thrill rides.

One of the most popular new Orlando-area thrill rides, Expedition Everest, can be found in Asia at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Expedition Everest, which towers nearly 200 feet high, is a thrilling train adventure through icy canyons and mountain caverns toward a terrifying encounter with the ferocious Yeti or abominable snowman. You must be at least 44 inches tall to ride Expedition Everest.

At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, thrill seekers have their choice of Rock ‘n Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, a classic indoor roller coaster that features classic songs from the legendary rock group; and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, which features a scary, 13-story plummet aboard a faulty elevator within a decrepit, 199-foot-tall Hollywood hotel. You must be at least 48 inches tall to ride Rock ‘n Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith and 40 inches tall to ride The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.

Epcot is home to Mission: SPACE, which opened in 2003 and takes you on a simulated space flight to Mars (complete with motion sickness bags) at the “ International Space Training Center.” Each member of the four-person crew is assigned a specific role – pilot, commander, navigator and engineer. Adjacent to Mission: SPACE lies Test Track, a six-passenger vehicle that cruises onto 50-degree banked curves at speeds up to 65 miles per hour. You must be at least 44 inches tall to ride Mission: SPACE and 40 inches tall to ride Test Track. At Soarin’, sttate-of-the-art technology allows you to take a bird’s eye view of California’s spectacular scenery, including the Golden Gate Bridge, Redwood forest, Yosemite National Park, Napa Valley, Disneyland and much more.

Space Mountain, the original thrill ride at Walt Disney World, still draws huge crowds in Tomorrowland. Two roller coaster tracks wind their way through the 183-foot mountain at speeds of 28 miles per hour in total darkness. You must be at least 44 inches tall to ride Space Mountain.Two other classic thrill rides at Disney’s Magic Kingdom, Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, lie within Frontierland. Splash Mountain takes you on a wild flume ride as you visit characters such as Brer Rabbit, Brer Bear and Brer Fox from Disney’s 1946 classic, Song of the South. However, the real highlight of Splash Mountain is the five-story free fall at a 45-degree angle into the splash pool below at 40 miles per hour. Adjacent to Splash Mountain lies Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, a “runaway train” that winds its way through an Old West mining town around mountains, through caves and over sulfur pools. You must be at least 40 inches tall to ride both Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

When you plan your itinerary around Disney’s popular thrill rides, make sure you take advantage of Disney’s FASTPASS, a free reservation system that will help you avoid long lines. To use FASTPASS, simply visit the FASTPASS ticket machine at the entrance to the ride and insert your admission ticket. The FASTPASS ticket you receive will indicate a time frame that allows you to return later without waiting in line.

Believe it or not, you can stay near Disney World without spending a fortune. For instance, Westgate Resorts offers great deals on spacious villa rentals that provide easy access to the four world-class theme parks at Walt Disney World Resort: Magic Kingdom Park, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park. For more information about villa rentals at Westgate Resorts, visit www.westgatedestinations.com.

Read Here…

One of the things I remember about growing up were the times that Dad would read to us.  Sometimes it would be on one of our beds, with us kids sitting around him.  Other times, it would be in the morning before the van came to take him to work.  We’d sit in the bean-bag chairs in the living room and listen for 15 or 20 minutes.

The reading material varied…the enjoyment remained constant.  We had this big book of Uncle Remus stories from which he’d read.  It was written in an old southern style, with sentences like, “Now Brer Fox wud der cleverest creetur in dee fores…”.  It was stuff us kids couldn’t read, no matter how hard we tried.  But Dad could.  So we’d sit there and listen and laugh as we heard about the De Tar Baby, and De Briar Patch, and Why De Cricket Fambly Lives in Chimbleys, and how Brer Rabbit outsmarted the lion that was hogging all the water at the water hole by pretending there was a big storm coming so the lion let Brer Rabbit tie him up to the tree.

And then there were the times that Dad would read to us…and he’d be the one laughing.  Like when he read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to us.  This book, the work that probably brought author Mark Twain his greatest fame, was actually first published in the United States on February 18, 1885…that’s today (well, not the 1885 part).

I’ve never read the book myself, and it’s been more than 30 years since Dad read it to us, but what I do remember is that he’d be reading and he’d get to laughing so hard that he’d have to stop.  I seem to remember a church picnic, and Huck and Tom Sawyer floating down the Mississippi River.  And Jim being captured and this elaborate plan that Huck and Tom hatched to free him.  And Jim getting shot in the leg during the escape.

I’m not sure why those snatches come to mind, except that maybe they’re the times when Dad was laughing the hardest.  There has been a lot of proverbial “water under the bridge”, but these are some of the many cherished memories I have.  Being a kid…hearing a story about a kid like Huck Finn or another about Brer Rabbit…laughing like a kid…and having Dad laugh like a kid.  He still does that, and I’m glad for it.

I can’t think of a time in the last 30 years when I haven’t been reading a book, and I’d like to think that it’s due to Mom’s appetite for reading that she passed on to all of us kids, Uncle Remus, Tom Sawyer…and Dad.

Recommended Activity:  If you’ve got children, read to them.  In 30 years, your grown-up kids may be writing about those memories on a this-day-in-history website of their own.

This post has moved to Trickster for beginners

Today Mickey turned 80!

And in honor of his birthday, I will now post my Top Ten Favorite Disney Movies:

1. Song of the South. For those of you younger than me, this movie was amazing back in the day. Released in 1946, this feature allowed animation and “real life characters” to coexist on the same screen. That was a full 42 years before the release of Who Framed Roger Rabbit. This classic gave us such great songs as “Zip-A-Dee-Do-Da”. The tagline when it was released was, “Only the magic of Walt Disney could bring you the tales of Uncle Remus and Brer Rabbit . . . live actors with cartoon background!” However, some of the content may be considered racist. As a kid growing up, I never looked at it through the eyes of “racism”, I loved the music and the thought that real people and cartoons could coexist in the same world…

2. Old Yeller. Released in 1957, this was the tale of a boy and an old yellow mutt who changed his life. Per IMDB: Young Travis Coates is left to take care of the family ranch with his mother and younger brother while his father goes off on a cattle drive in the 1860’s. When a yellow mongrel comes for an uninvited stay with the family, Travis reluctantly adopts the dog. After a series of scrapes involving raccoons, snakes, bears and all manner of animals, Travis grows to love and respect Old Yeller, who comes to have a profound effect on the boy’s life.

3. The Jungle Book. Released in 1967, this classic not only was one of my favorites, it was one of my kids’ favorites as well. The music is phenomenal (The Bear Necessities). When my kids discovered this movie some twenty odd years later, I knew all of the words and delighted in their learning them as well.

4. The Apple Dumpling Gang. This movie was released in 1975 and although I cannot recall if we saw it in the movies, I can remember watching it with my Pawpaw. Great cast of characters. I loved any movie that had both Tim Conway and Don Knotts. What a great comedic duo!

5. Pete’s Dragon. Released in 1977, this movie (like Song of the South) delighted children with the thought of animated characters and live actors living together in harmony. Well, almost harmony. This is a tale of an orphan boy and his magical dragon come to town with his abusive adoptive parents in pursuit. With the likes of Mickey Rooney, Shelly Winters and Red Buttons – how could you go wrong?

6. The Three Musketeers. It is campy, it has Oliver Platt and I love it. No apologies!

7. Fantasia. Proof that in 1940 old Walt was dropping some acid…

8. Alice in Wonderland. Proof that in 1951 old Walt realized that he was not the ONLY one dropping acid…

9. Tron. The summer before my freshman year of high school. Sigh, that was a great summer. This movie is one of those memories. Leaving Catholic School and heading to Public School. FREEDOOOOOOMMMM! lol

10. The Three Caballeros. Phoenix was not the first Joaquin on the scene! Joaquin Garay was the voice of Panchito. Per IMDB: “A large box arrives for Donald on his birthday, three gifts inside. He unwraps one at a time, and each takes him on an adventure. The first is a movie projector with a film about the birds of South American: Donald watches two cartoons, one tells of a penguin who longs to live on a tropical isle and the other about a gaucho boy who hunts the wild ostrich. The second gift is a pop-up book about Brazil. Inside is Zé Carioca, who takes Donald to Brazil’s Bahia for a mix of animation and live action: the two cartoon birds sing and dance with natives. The third gift is a piñata, accompanied by Panchito. A ride on a magic serape takes the three amigos singing and dancing across Mexico.”

I let my guard down and fox enfoxed me so that now I’m stuck, entrapped, paralyzed by the tar.  

He will torture and destroy me if I don’t think fast.

I must pretend I don’t want what I want; I must pretend I don’t fear what I fear.

Here goes:

“Do what you will with me, anything–just don’t throw me to the briars.”

He buys it.

I am free, at home in the briars where he cannot follow.  

There was a price though:  now I don’t know what I want and when I do I feel compelled to hide it; now I hear myself claiming to want the things that I fear.

Republicans are desperate characters!

So what will the American ‘electorate’ (and I use the term loosely believing US presidents are chosen based on other criteria than citizens’ druthers) – what will the loosely-termed American electorate do if faced with NO October Surprise to sway them to the right by playing upon primal fears?

http://www.slate.com/id/2203238/?from=rss

Puts me in mind of storybook reading days with my kids…pardon a smidge of Brer Rabbit but I got the most goosebumps out of reading this bit – misspelling may be off and I’m paraphrasing here:

‘Cos I de wull o’de wust

and YOU de one i’m after

i’m gon skin you jest fer fun

you better run – you better run!

cos i de wull o’de wust

and YOU de one i’m after.’

~:~Skeery, yes?

Purposeful: adj. intentional, done with purpose

Passive: adj. receiving or subjected to an action without responding or initiating an action in return

I’m about to make a politically incorrect association after reading Stanley Fish yesterday in the NYTimes. He writes about how Obama has used an unexpected approach to campaigning. While the McCain campaign is doing the typical Republican rabble-rousing, fear-mongering, mud-slinging thing – trying to tar and feather Obama with dubious associations, Obama is doing something new. 

Nothing much. The purposefully passive campaign.

We saw it in the 10 days when the activity around the mounting economic crisis was at its height… Media commentators went from one hysterical prediction to another. John McCain went from saying there’s nothing to worry about to saying there’s everything to worry about to saying that he would fix everything by suspending his campaign to saying that he was not suspending his campaign and that he would debate after all.

And Barack Obama? He didn’t do much and he said less (O.K., he did say some reassuring, optimistic things), and his poll numbers went up.

Weeks later, the pattern continues, but in an even more intense form. The McCain campaign huffs and puffs and jumps from charge to charge

Instead of tossing legitimate mud back at McCain and Palin, like:

bring up the Keating Five… McCain’s treatment of his first wife, or make fun of Sarah Palin (she doesn’t need any help), or disparage his opponent’s experience, or hint at the disabilities of age.

Obama just stands there looking languid (George Will called him the Fred Astaire of politics [love that!]), always smiling and never raising his voice.

Fish takes the high road and is reminded of Milton’s Paradise Lost, where Satan can’t seem to get any traction in his attempts to rile up Jesus.  Me, I’m reminded of one of the non-PC Uncle Remus stories, “Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby”…

Brer Fox wants to bring the uppity Brer Rabbit down a notch, so he creates a babylike creature of paper and sticky tar, plunks a hat on its head and sticks it in the middle of the path Brer Rabbit will travel.  When Brer Rabbit, being mannerly, encounters the Tar Baby on the path, he tips his hat and says good morning, but the Tar Baby says nothing. Meanwhile, in the words of the storyteller, “Brer Fox, he lay low”, watching from the underbrush as the scene unfolds as he’d hoped).

Brer Rabbit gets pissed that the tar baby isn’t responding and he starts threatening it. (Brer Fox, he still lay low.) Eventually he hauls off and punches the Tar Baby, getting his paw stuck in the tar. He gets madder, insisting that if the Tar Baby doesn’t let him go, he’ll punch him with the other paw… [and you can see where this is going.  The story is a classic American folktale - read the whole thing here]

McCain, like Brer Rabbit, has completely lost his cool, while Obama, he lies low, crazy like a fox, dumb and sticky like a tar baby.  

During the debates when McCain would slime him with some easily refuted garbage, I yelled at Obama/the TV: “Ask him about that right-wing pastor! Ask him about Cindy stealing drugs from her charity and causing a couple of respected docs to lose their licenses! Ask him about Rick Davis’s ties to Fannie Mae!”  

But he just smiled knowingly, and lay low.

It looks like the high road is paying off.

Br’er Rabbit, taken during the day parade at Tokyo, Disneyland. Taken with the Nikon D2h and Nikon 17-55mm DX lens. From Disney’s “Song of the South”, that featured the hit song “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” by Uncle Remus.