Disney Art Gallery

These pictures are the beginning of what I'm calling my "Disney art gallery". They are reprints of Thomas Kinkade paintings. They are not actually "paintings" themselves. They're "officially" called wrapped around gallery prints. They are vinyl. The one on the left is based on the movie, Peter Pan and the other is a composite based on the 1940 Disney classic: Pinocchio.

This particular painting is special to me because it evokes a special memory from my birthday trip to Walt Disney World this past September. Here's the story of that memory.

It was purchased from Shop NBC home shopping channel where I work. I saw it for the first time it on the air early in 2010. Although not really impressed by the subject matter (I'm not a big Pinocchio fan) I really liked the details of it. Of course anything that has to do with Disney usually catches my interest but I was very impressed by this composite of Pinocchio, as well as the one of Peter Pan. The setting and characters from each of the movies are creatively captured in each of them.

I really wanted the Pinocchio picture from the first time I saw it. I thought it would look great hanging on the wall in my computer room next to my framed share of Disney stock. The one thing that was stopping me from getting it was the price. It was a bit high. Even with interest free divided installments (in Shop NBC jargon they are known as "value pays") it was still too expensive.

Still as the year went along from time to time the Thomas Kinkade Disney collection would be featured on the air including the two I liked (Pinocchio & Peter Pan) as well as Bambi, Cinderella and Snow White. Because they were on the air, curious at-home shoppers would call into customer service with questions about them. That gave me the opportunity to share my observations and opinions about the prints with them. For the first time in my life, in a very small and remote way, I was being paid to talk about something "Disney" related.

As time went by I grew to accept that unless the price of the Disney prints came down significantly I would never own one. I liked them but the price wasn't worth their value. Then everything changed because of something that happened during our day at the Magic Kingdom in Disney World on September 8, 2010.

After a wonderful day in the park Paula and I were slowly making our way from Fantasyland, where we watched the fireworks, toward the front gate. That meant going down Main Street USA. We took our time, lagging behind until most of the crowd leaving the park after the "Wishes" show were gone ahead of us. We were just taking our time strolling through the various shops. We did some souvenir buying and looked at all the special and expensive merchandise.

While Paula went into one of the jewelry stores I decided to go into the Art of Disney store. That's where I saw it; the Thomas Kinkade Pinocchio print. It was larger, framed, and much much more expensive than Shop NBC's version but it was the same picture.

I had been admiring and studying it for most of the year. I could almost describe it with my eyes closed. Now I was seeing it in a place that specialized in selling Disney art. I was so excited about the idea of engaging in a conversation with the cast members who were working in the store about this Pinocchio print. These were Disney art experts whose job it was to to have knowledge of the object of my Disney art admiration. But as it turns out they were not the experts I expected them to be.

When I asked them about the print they didn't seem to know much about it. I was a little taken back and disappointed about their knowledge or passion about their wares. But undaunted by their indifference I decided to go with plan "b". I decided that I was going to educate them about it. In my "customer service" mode I began to point out the details and idiosyncrasies of Kinkade's portrayal of Pinocchio's village scene. I was telling Disney cast members in a store of Disney art on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World about a piece of Disney art they were supposed to know about. It was so cool.

I'm not sure "cool" was how they would have described it but for me it was a wonderful experience. The value wanting to own the Pinocchio print had just increased exponentially. Now not only did owning it (the Shop NBC wrap around print not the Disney World print) hold the promise of bringing a little bit of Disney into my home but it now would be a constant reminder of those moments in that Art Of Disney store that night.

Now fast forward 3 months to the moment I opened a box on Christmas Day and much to my delight found my beloved print. My wonderful wife got it for me as a Christmas present.

It now hangs on the wall of our computer room and just above it hangs the Peter Pan/Tinkerbell print that's just a good if not better. Both of them were purchased with the benefit of a sale price, Value Pay, and an employee discount.

So now you know the story of my Thomas Kinkade Pinocchio print. So now when I'm in the back room of the house, working on the computer I can look to my left and feel a little bit of that Disney magic and think about a great memory of my birthday trip to Disney World, any time I want.

The Saratoga Rifleman

One of my current personal projects is researching and writing a script for a "Rewind" show featuring music that I found or purchased in 2010 as well as songs that will always remind me of the people and events who played a special role during my 50th year on earth.

Some of that research involved looking for information about some songs about the American Revolutionary War I downloaded last year. They were songs I remembered from my 5th grade history class. Yes, we listened to music during history class. Their lyrics were about the soldiers and the battles they fought.One of those songs was about a "double barreled rifleman" named Timothy Murphy.

Murphy was a skilled shooter who is considered one of the first American war heroes. He was born near the Delaware Water Gap in Pennsylvania. His story is best summed up on the historic mile marker along a highway near Middleburgh, New York. The marker is pictured above but for those of you with eyesight like mine, here's what it say:

"Timothy Murphy was Schoharie County's Revolutionary hero. Owner of one of the first double-barreled rifles, he was a sharpshooter known to the Indians as the magic man whose gun would shoot without reloading. As a member of Morgan's Rifles, Murphy fired the shot which killed British General Simon Fraser at the Battle of Saratoga on October 7, 1777. This deprived the English of leadership during the crucial battle which was the turning point of the Revolution."

The song tells the story of Murphy's heroic actions as well. A couple of the songs from my 5th grade education, are going to be part of the Rewind show. I'm going to be recording later this year, once I finish writing it. I'll let you know when it's complete.

Oh yes, one final thing I also found out during my research. The doubled-barrel rifle that Timothy Murphy used to take his strategic shots at the British General was made by a man named John Golcher. He was from Easton, Pennsylvania. I wasn't able to find out much about him. But my curiosity is peaked. If anyone reading this knows something about Glocher please let me know.

So that's the story of what I found out about the Saratoga Rifleman while doing some simple research. I think it's cool when you end up going down a road of discovery that you never intended but nonetheless find enjoyable. But maybe that's just me.

A "Playlist" Sparks Memories Of A Roller Rink

Yesterday I created a playlist for my IPod that only a few people would enjoy for the exact same reason I created it.

The 24 songs are all pop music hits that were popular in either the 50's, 60's or 70's. While they are all "golden oldies" and fans of that era of music would enjoy them; but these recordings have a specific common bond. They bring back memories of a special place from my childhood. That place is the Bushkill Park Roller Rink.

The skating facility is no longer open. I believe the last time it was was more than 5 years ago. It's located in Easton, Pennsylvania, near where I grew up. It was recently featured as part of the TV show "American Pickers".

It's where I learned to roller skate. I spent many many nights (from 8 to 11PM) going around and around with my friends and family from the time I was 8 until I was in my early 20's. The place was a very popular social scene for kids and teenagers for decades. My sister Peggy's 16th birthday part was there.

The songs on my play list were all played during the skating sessions throughout the years. They hold some of the strongest memories about a specific time and place in my life than any other songs in my personal music collection.

The song "Soldier Boy" by the Shirelles is the #1 memory maker on the play list. "This Time" by Troy Shondell, "Sixteen Candles" by the Crests, and "Puppy Love" by Donny Osmond also take me back to those days of skating counter-clock wise around the rink; racing and cutting up with friends.

But the Bushkill Park roller rink wasn't just skating around in an approximate oval. The entire building was an experience. There was the snack bar area that sold 12 oz. sodas in old fashioned glass soda bottles. The kind that had to have the caps pried off of them before you could drink them. There was also an enclosed glass display case full of candy such as licorice and gumdrops, jaw breakers, candy bars and bubble gum. It was all sold to you by a very old woman. I don't remember her name or even if I ever did know it at all. But I'll never forget her. She was very thin, had wrinkled skin, snow white wavy hair and a very prominent nose. You would tell her what you wanted and she would put it in a small brown paper bag. We called them "penny candy bags".

There were pinball machines between the snack bar and the admission/skate rental counter. Over the years the games changed but that was the place to play pinball during the night. A place to "get away" from the skating floor if you just needed a break or wanted to try your best to win a free game or set a high score. The sounds of the bells made from pinballs banging against the bumpers was as much part of the soundtrack of the roller sink as the music I've mentioned.

The admission/skate rental counter was the place you always saw Mom Long. She was old and , maybe 5 foot tall at the most. She had short grey hair and wore "granny" style wire framed glasses. She kind of reminded me of George Baily's mother in the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" only with totally grey hair. Mabel "Mom" Long was the owner of, not just the skating rink, but the entire park. Her husband had owned it for years but after he died, in 1961, she ran it with the help of the old lady at the snack bar and a really old guy named "Mel". He looked like your stereotypical mid 50's aged carny worker from the movies.

"Mom" Long was one of those women who was "old" since anyone could remember. She was a bit gruff and could be a bit nasty or insensitive at times. My cousin, Roger, once told me that his "best memory" of Bushkill Park Roller Rink was when he fell and broke his arm while skating and Mom Long pulled on it. Can't remember if he mentioned the circumstances or why she did it. Just that he said it was the worse pain he'd ever felt in his life.

I liked Mom Long. She was always nice to me. I really respected her for what she did as owner/ operator of the park over the years. It wasn't an easy thing to do. I know as far as the roller rink was concerned she ran a tight ship. She didn't put up with anything out of line or against the rules from her patrons. I thought so much of her I cut out her obituary from the newspaper when she died in April of 1989. I still have it in my personal memorabilia.

There were other unique elements to the Bushkill Park roller rink experience. The area where you hung your coat up was isolated and open to anyone. You had made sure you didn't leave anything of value in your pockets that you didn't want stolen. Getting ripped off didn't happen all the time but it did occasionally. I remember having a few hats, sets of gloves and even a heavy winter jacket stolen from me over the years.

The seating area was where you changed into your skates at the start of the night and stowed your shoes under one of the wooden chairs. Hoping that at the end of the night you could still find them where you left them. There were several 2 ft. squared gray painted "blocks" of wood cut at an angle on one side, so you could prop your foot up at an angle, to help you hold your skates steady as you put them on.

The bathroom at the rink was accessible just off the skate floor. It was small and it was primitive. Just barely a bathroom. Of course, I was never in the girls room but the boys' bathroom had a urinal that didn't have any typing of flushing capabilities. The single stall was just toilet installed over a pit dug in the ground. No flushing at all. Stink? Whew! It wreaked!.

The walls along the skating floor were painted mostly pink with a Polynesian/tropical theme to them. There were scenes of islands and palm trees all along the walls. I always imagined that back in it's most popular days (the 30's & 40's) when the paint was new and the lights all worked it was quite a beautiful place. But to me, just like the proprietors who ran it, the place always looked old.

On the far side of the skating floor opposite all the other areas I've mentioned was a small DJ booth. That's where they played the 45 RPM records on a phonograph over a very tin sounding speaker system. I don't ever remember there being a dedicated "DJ" to play the records. The job of setting up the records on the automatic spindle of the record player was that of the teenage boy who served as the skating guard. It was part of his job in addition to making sure everyone obeyed the rules of the rink.

That brings me back to the music. I've already mentioned some of the songs in which my my roller skating memories abide. And I've described the rink and it's facilities. But unless you had the Bushkill Park Roller Rink experience yourself I could never fully describe it to you. It was always, for the most part, a good time.

I was always assured of having fun at each session. More times than not, if I went skating on a Friday or Saturday I'd go to spend the night at my cousin Gary's house afterward.

I can remember taking my skates off and having that strange feeling when I started to walk in my sneakers again. It was the combination of lingering effects of the hours of vibration from the wheels of the rented skates and the blisters they gave me.

As we left for the night Gary and I would usually stocked up on candy with the money we had left over with the intention of eating it on the way home or some time before we went to bed that night.

The final memory I have connected with each session at the roller rink was the short walk from the steps of the rink entrance (see picture at the top of this post) to the spring at the edge of the amusement park.

There was a small building that, on the side, down a couple of steps, had a cement basin. Into the basin from a couple of open pipes flowed cold fresh water from a spring somewhere below the park. Mounted on the building were a couple of Dixie cup dispensing machines. You could put a penny into one of these machines, pull a lever and get yourself a small cup to fill with spring water and enjoy. After a long hot summer night of roller skating I thought those cups of water were very very refreshing. Even as I'm writing this I can fondly remember how it felt to quench my thirst with such pure cold water.

Anyway, I hope that my personal recollections of Bushkill Park's roller rink have sparked some pleasant memories of your own. if you didn't grow up in the Easton area and never ever heard of Bushkill Park or it's roller rink until you started reading this post; you're probably really bored at this point and would like me to wrap it up. And I will.

But the path I've taken while compiling my latest IPod play list (this includes researching articles on Google and watching videos on You Tube) has evoked such fond and wonderful memories of a special place from my childhood I HAD to write about it.

By the way if you want to see some video of Bushkill park and the roller rink that were taken back in 1988 just go on to You Tube and type in "Bushkill Park". You'll get to see a little of what I'm talking about as well as see the amusement park I went to as a kid. I have a lot of memories of the park as well. But that's another post for another time.

I'm A Goofy Guy

I know many of you reading this would probably a agree with the title of this post. But I'm not referring to my behavior or personality by stating that I'm "goofy". Although I can understand if some would want to use that word as a means of interpreting the way I act sometimes.

But by describing myself with the "g" word I'm referring to an iconic Disney character's behavior, not my own.

If the fans of the "Twilight" series of books and movies can state that they are "Team Edward" or "Team Jacob"; when it comes to the 5most popular Disney characters I'm declaring that I'm "Team Goofy".

I've never been a really big Mickey Mouse fan. I mean don't get me wrong "the mouse" represents all things Disney. He's an international corporate icon. Because of that I'm always interested in all things Mickey. In addition Minnie, Donald, Pluto, and Goofy (who along with Mickey are known by Disney fans as "The Fab 5") are also character icons for Disney. They are the core group of the recognizable Disney characters. But over the last few years Goofy has become my favorite.

This is mainly because I've come to identify with Goofy in several ways. He always seems to approach physical tasks (sports, home repairs, ect.) with enthusiasm but doesn't think things through with disastrous results.

Also as a dad in 1995's "A Goofy Movie" he's considered by his own son as "uncool". Max loves his father but is embarrassed by and doesn't want to be anywhere near him. He considers him...well...a goof.

Sometimes I think that's how my family views me, at least partially. Don't get me wrong they love me but lots of times they are a bit embarrassed by the way I act or things I do and especially by my sense of humor and jokes. So as an amendment to the initial paragraphs of this post. I'll admit it. I am goofy sometimes.

I think the final drop in the bucket that tipped me over to the being a true Goofy fan was getting my picture taken with him and Pluto in Animal Kingdom's Dinoland on my 50th birthday. That was a special moment for me. Oh sure Pluto was there too but this was the REAL Goofy! (see picture above) Forget the fact that I'm wearing a Kermit the Frog t-shirt. In that picture I'm a Goofy Guy.

What does my declaration of being a member of the Goofy fan club mean? It means from now on I'm going to be looking for and collecting Goofy items. Toys, pins, t-shirts, any kind of merchandise that has to do with my favorite idiosyncratic Disney dog, Goofy.

So if you're reading this and sometime in the future the occasion comes up that you want, need or are required to buy me a gift and you want to get something that has to do with Disney. Just remember...I'm a Goofy Guy.

Our Trip To Spamalot

At the start of this month I wrote several post about presents I received this past Christmas that provided special moments and lasting memories.

Last Sunday, January 16, I received yet another wonderful memory courtesy of a Christmas gift.

My sons and I went to Lexington to see the national touring company's production of "Monty Python's Spamalot".

It is a stage show based on the movie "Monty Python & The Holy Grail". The original Broadway production won the 2005 Tony award as "best musical."

I bought the tickets back in August and gave the boys theirs as a Christmas present.

We has a terrific "guy's day out" together; something we hadn't had since they took me to a Hot Rods' baseball game last summer.

The day began with a stop at a "Cracker Barrel" restaurant just a few miles up the road. After we finished eating a hearty breakfast we headed up I-65 and across the Blue Grass Parkway.

We parked in a nearby private parking lot about a block from the Lexington Opera House. Arriving about 45 minutes before curtain.

Our seats were on the right side of the theater in the very front row. They were good seats but a bit too close to the stage, believe it or not. There were a set of stacked speakers on the stage in front of me that effected my view but otherwise we had a very good vantage point.

The show was a lot of fun and hilarious. We laughed from the time the overture began and the musical director "shot" one of the horn players for playing the wrong note, until the firing of confetti cannons at the end. The confetti flew as the entire cast was leading the audience in singing the song "The Bright Side of Life". By the way, because he wasn't expecting it, those confetti cannons going off right in front of him, surprised my 22 year old son. Although I didn't see it myself, Michael said it really made James jump. His reaction gave people around him an unexpected additional laugh.

The first act basically followed the script of the "holy grail" movie with lots of funny production numbers . But the 2nd act was more of a Broadway style retelling of the story with a tongue-in-cheek "happily ever after" ending.

After the show we stopped at an Applebee's restaurant in Lexington to have something to eat; then we drove home. As usually happens on road trips; my sons slept most of the way home.

It was the best "father and son" day we've had since I can remember. I'm going to be smiling about it for a long time. Although it's only January, for me, our trip to "Spamalot" has already made the list of highlights of the year 2011.

Orchestra Kentucky Brings Music To Life

Last night Paula and I went to the symphony. Actually it was a concert by Orchestra Kentucky. An organization of local professional musicians who perform concerts several times a year. Their concerts are held in Van Meter Hall on the campus of Western Kentucky University.

This concert, the orchestra's first for 2011, featured the music of Leroy Anderson (pronounced "Lah-Roy" not "Lee-Roy") a composer/arranger famous in the 1950's & 60's.

I am familiar with Mr. Anderson's music for several reasons. When I was a kid and I used to to our local movie theaters (there were 2 of them: "The Boyd" and "The State") I would hear Leroy Anderson records being played over the sound system before the movie started.

In addition the most vivid memory with Leroy Anderson music came at Christmas time; again when I was a kid. From the time I was 5 until I was about 12, every Christmas, I would go to a special "private" Christmas party given by the Ingersol Rand company; a local manufacturer of industrial pumps. They employed a lot of people at that time and party was given for the children of the employees. My dad didn't work for them but friends who did always gave us a pair of tickets to go.

The party was a variety show with different types of acts. Each year the show usually included a magician, an animal act and a novelty act such as acrobats, a juggler or a ventriloquist.

There was a small band that included a trumpet player giving musical accompaniment to the acts. They would also play when the MC led everyone to sing a Christmas song or two.

The start of the show was signaled when the band would play Leroy Anderson's most famous song: Sleigh Ride. The instrumental version of the song still brings back memories of those great Christmas party shows. There's also another special connection between the song Sleigh Ride and me that has to do with my dad. You can read about that in my blog post titled "A Father's Encouragement. Posted on December 19, 2009.

Anderson's novelty composition "The Typewriter" is one of my favorite parts of one of my top 5 favorite Jerry Lewis movies, "Who's Minding The Store". You can see several versions of Lewis' comedic pantomime of this song on You Tube.

As you can see I'm very familiar with Leroy Anderson's music. I looked forward to this concert since last summer when I first heard it was on the Orchestra's schedule for 2011.

Paula went with me to the concert. However a bit of miscommunication on my part led her to believe that she seeing Mr. Anderson perform and not just going to a concert. That would have been an extremely unique experience due to the fact that he died in 1995.

Despite getting something totally different than she expected my wife said that she "enjoyed it more than she expected" and that she wouldn't mind having one of the songs played during the performance, "Forgotten Dreams", added to her the music library on her I-Touch.

I knew I would enjoy the concert. It was my first live orchestral experience since high school, I think. But I didn't expect the night to impact me to the degree that it did. Let me try to explain.

As I've mentioned Leroy Anderson's music was something I'd been hearing nearly all of my life. It was music I'd known as being from the past. I had it on my Ipod but when listening to it it only evoked memories and wasn't the least bit engaging. It was novel and entertaining but something from my parent's generation not mine.

But when I heard the music in that beautiful concert hall and saw the musicians actually playing their instruments; I experience the Leroy Anderson's talents in an all together new way. Watching the violinists plucking the instrument's strings during "Plink Plank Plunk" and seeing that the melody line of "Trumpeter's Lullaby" was made by 3 different trumpet players playing in harmony made the music come to life for me. It was an incredible feeling of something that I perceived to from the past, becoming real to my senses.

I likened it to the scene in the movie "Jurassic Park" when the paleontologist, Ellie Sattler and Alan Grant( played by Laura Dern and Sam Neil) saw the real live dinosaurs for the first time. They were awed over the experience of something they'd only imagined becoming real.

That's what the concert did for me. It made the music real. It was a thrill that I've only experienced before at Disney World. Surreal.

Leroy Anderson's music will from now on have a new spirit for me. That may sound strange and I may not be communicating what I mean very well. But the way it felt being at that concert was something I'll remember as a truly unique experience.

Disney Podcast Script Writer

My first "15 minutes of fame" for the year 2011 came by way a pair of my favorite things: writing and a Disney Podcast.

Each week I download to I-Tunes and listen on my Ipod about 6 different podcasts about Disney stuff. One of them is called "Mouse Guest".

This long running Disney Podcast that's tagged every week as "the place where Disney fans get their fix" has been running weekly for more than 5 years. It's hosted by a trio of Disney enthusiasts named: Eric, Cathy and Dan. Their podcast is one of my favorite because they are just regular 30 something working stiffs who simply share their love of Disney World and all things Disney.

I like these hosts and feel so comfortable listening to them that I frequently call their special phoneline and leave a voice mail with my comments or questions for their show. They play them as part of the "listener feedback" portion of their podcast nearly everytime I leave one.

The Mouse Guest podcast for the two weeks over the holidays was a prerecorded 2 part program that included some discussion of music, a lyrics quiz, a Harry Potter quiz and other things both Disney and non Disney related.
On December 30 I wrote a 7 page email in response to the things discussed on the 2-part holiday Mouse Guest podcast for the last 2 weeks of December.

The MG hosts liked my email and the subjects that I wrote so much about that they read nearly every word of it over the course of their first and second shows for 2011. I was honored by the fact that Eric & Dan (Cathy was not on due to illness) thought my opinons and choices for discusson topics were good enough to use on their podcast. Not just for 1 show but for 2.

So I guess you could say that not only do I have a claim to fame as the writer of this blog but I am a podcast script writer, now, as well.

If you are interested in hearing what I wrote about and how Eric & Dan respond to it you can log on to www.mouseguest.com and click on the podcast link. Or you can search for the podcast in the I-Tunes store, subscribe to it then and download and listen to them there.

Most of what I wrote about has to do with Disney but I also included stuff about my TV and music preferences as well. So there you have my first memorable moments of 2011. My debut as a Disney podcast script writer. Thanks Eric & Dan.