Archive | June, 2017

Yet Another Disney Adventure Begins

29 Jun

I have a secret, well not so secret vice, I love all things Disney. My kitchen includes Mickey/Minnie dishes and silverwear.  I have Disney tea towels and bath towels. I even have a Mickey toaster that burns the Mickey ears into my toast. 


I have been to Disneyland in California five times. The first was in 1980 when we still used coupons to get on the rides. And DisneyWorld. I think I have been here nine times. And to be honest, I have gone several times without any children.  I go for my own enjoyment.  

I am back in Orlando for another Disney holiday. My husband has a meeting and I came along for the adventure. While he is giving lectures, I will be at Magic Kingdom with my brother in law and his significant other. They have season passes.  Yes, my brother in law loves Disney even more than I do! He has even run in the Disney marathons. I think just to get the medals. 

In any case, two days in Orlando means a day at Epcot and a day in an enchanted world. And for those Universal addicts, I was there last year and I do love Harry Potter World and Susical Land. But really nothing compares with Disney. 

Since I live in the Kansas City area, I feel another point of affinity. Walt Disney actually started his career in KC, and there is an effort underway to restore his original studio. 

And yes I know that that Mr Disney was not always the nicest of people even though he gave us wonderful animated movies. But on the other hand he opened Disneyland the year I was born! I grew up watching the Wonderful World of Disney on television. Who can ever forget those shows? Not me. 

Some might say that Mr. Disney was a bit anti-Semitic. It could be true. But I am the proud owner a several Disney Hanukkah decorations, including a hanukkiah.  

My parents never took us there. But I have made up for this many times.  One of my favorite trips, besides the many times with different family members, was taking a childhood friend for her first Disney adventure over seven years ago. It is great going with someone who has never experienced it before. What a trip. 

I will say, the only time I would not return is on December 26.  I did that once in California.  My cousin and I took three children.  It was a bit of a nightmare!  So many people. So many long lines.  But I got the best hat ever, a wizard hat from the “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” that lights up. It was great for the kids to stay with us as it got dark out.  I still wear it for special occasions. 


I even purchased special Minnie ears for my daughter to wear at her bridal shower. I guess the purple ribbons and veil called out my name.  And my understanding daughter wore it! 

So here I am back in Orlando. I am so happy to be going to DisneyWorld tomorrow. Another adventure begins. 

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A Wonderful Gift At Crystal Bridges

20 Jun

With so much focus on people acting in mean and nasty ways, I think it is important to focus on people who do unexpected nice actions.   My friend and I were the recipients of one such wonderful gift.

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Outside Chihuly Exhibit 

This past weekend I went to Bentonville, Arkansas, to see the Chihuly exhibit at the Crystal Bridges Museum.  I love Chihuly’s art and was looking forward to seeing both the inside and outside installations.   My friend was kind enough to buy our tickets in advance, so that we had no problems getting in and seeing this amazing sampling of his work. (See link below for more on Chihuly.)

While we were walking outside, I saw the Frank Lloyd Wright House that had recently been moved and renovated on the museum’s grounds. The Bachman Wilson House is a wonderful example of his style. We walked up to the house, even though there were no longer tickets available for the day, hoping to at least see the outside.

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Kiosk with info about the house… And the couple who gave us the tickets!!! How lucky that I had unknowingly taken their photo.

On the way to the house is a small kiosk with information about Wright and his more famous structures. We spoke to a couple who were also reading the information. And had a lovely conversation about Wright. Then we all walked up to the house.

When we got there, we asked the attendant if we could at least walk around the house even though we did not have tickets to enter. She said, “Of Course.” So we went on our way.

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Frank Lloyd Wright house.  No photos are allowed inside.

A few minutes later she called us back. The couple we had met, had been to the house when it first opened, and gave us their tickets!!! They wanted us to be able to see the inside as well. My friend started to cry, she was so happy.

At first, we declined, we did not want to disrupt their visit. But they insisted. I turned to the attendant and said, “That is so nice.” She agreed and said to them, “Why don’t you go into the house as well.” So they had the opportunity to see the house as well, but without the headsets to hear the history of the house. Those they insisted that we use.

Visiting Bentonville and the Crystal Bridges Museum is well worth the trip south.   But the added bonus is meeting such lovely people. Seeing this house from both the outside and the inside made such an impression.

We thanked them several times that day….as we crossed their path in the museum. It was such a wonderful gift!

 

https://zicharonot.wordpress.com/2016/06/10/chihuly-stunning/

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Wow…It Is An Email Generation

13 Jun

I had an awakening at the post office today while I waited on line to mail a package.  It was a moment that had a bit of deja vu about it.  I remember when touch tone phones came out, and people quickly forgot about dial phones.  In fact,  I remember my children seeing a dial phone at a local children’s museum and asking me how to use it.  They tried pushing the numbers; they did not realize they had to spin the dial.

Today at the post office I realized what the email generation was losing… the ability to mail a letter.

As I was standing in line a young man, about 18-19 years old, walked up to the clerk with a card and envelope in his hand.  The clerk took it and said,  “What do you need?  This already has a stamp on it.”  The boy said, “I need to mail this card.”

“Oh,” the clerk responded.  “Is this one of our cards?  Do you have to pay for it?”

“No,” the boy responded.  I just need to mail it.”

“Okay,” the clerk said, looking puzzled.  “You need to put the card into the envelope.”

The boy did that and handed the enclosed envelope to the clerk.  It was addressed.

“Now you have to seal the envelope,” the clerk said.

“How do I do that?” The boy asked.

By this time, I was listening in absolute amazement.  He honestly did not know how to mail a card.  The clerk helped him seal it, and the boy left.

Then came, to the same clerk, another young man.  He was a bit older, maybe 20.  And he handed a stamped, sealed envelope to the clerk.

“There needs to be an address on this envelope,” the clerk says.

“I know,” the young man responded, “But how do you write it?  Do I write it across the top like an email address?”

He was not joking.  He had no idea how to address an envelope.  The clerk helped him out, showing him how to put the address in three lines: name; address; city, state and zip code.

To be honest, with the first boy, I thought it was a fluke.  How could that be with someone who was the age of 18 or 19, I did not know.  But obviously he had not mailed a letter on his own.

However, when the second guy got up there and had no idea how to address an envelope, I was almost laughing out loud.  I controlled myself.  But I flashed back to my grandmother. She was born in 1898 and died in 1993.  I remember her telling me about the times before cars and technology.  And how everything was changing so quickly. And then my parents.  Although my Dad did learn to use the computer and email, my Mom never did.

Now we are launching the Email Generation.   Postage and envelopes might become obsolete.  I still get an occasional letter or card from a friend. Not very often.  But I think the email generation will lose the joy of opening mail.

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Making Music On St Maarten Is Magical

7 Jun

Listening to an expert on the steel drum. He was amazing.

Yesterday in St Maarten we decided to go on a different type of tourist adventure. We have been on this island several times and had no desire to tour around the island or go shopping. But we did find the perfect experience. We learned to play steel pan drums.

A tour from our cruise ship went to the school run by Dow’s Musical Foundation. There we experienced the Caribbean music of the steel pan drums and practiced with a group to actually play a song on the drums.

Who knew there were several types of drums?  Well there are: tenor, bass and one in between. Some are for the melody, others to hold the beat. Most of the drums comes in sets of two. There are two octaves, but the notes are devided between the two drums. Except for the base.  Those playing the base had to play on five different and much bigger drums.

A magical moment playing the steel pan drums!

At first I was a little slow. But eventually I got into the beat with the help of one of the teachers (who is from Kentucky!).

Going back and forth between the two drums was a bit confusing at first, but soon my brain caught up and my hands used the drum sticks. It was sort of like playing the hammered dulcimer. A gentle snap of the hand to get the best sound!

But the highlights was a short performance by one of the school’s founders. His passion for the music, his sense of rhythm and his joy were contagious and amazing. We then had the opportunity to listen to a group of school children as they preformed a song. These were students from one of the schools who take music lessons there.


Over 1100 students have the opportunity to learn music. To support the foundation, we purchased a cd adding a liitle extra.

It was worth it to see the smiles on the children’s faces as they focused on their playing, on their instructors and us.

I am so glad we took the opportunity to do something different and put a little musical magic in our lives!

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