Disneyworld

Happily Ever After

Once upon a Time

My mom and I went to Disney world last week to celebrate my impending 50th Birthday (Yikes!), and for me, a celebration of getting a "real" job!  This was my 3rd time there, my mom's 4th time, so we stuck with things we liked and new things to check out.  It was so hot and humid, I think even more so compared to when we went 31 years ago in July.  It sapped us all our strength.  All I can say is thank goodness for air conditioning!  

These pictures are from the Magic Kingdom nighttime show, where they projected scenes from Disney movies, played music from them, and coordinated the fireworks with it all.  It was amazing.  I was in awe.  As Sheldon says in "The Big Bang Theory," it was pure Disney magic.  

I am always impressed by the Disney parks as the people who work there, for the most part, are friendly and cheerful.  I don't know how they do it in the heat, humidity, screaming kids, and demanding parents.  I think I would commit hari-kari pretty quickly.  And they always do a good job.  They are always committed to safety, reminding parents non-stop about their kids.  When I saw a lost little girl, 4 Disney workers came to her aid and helped her find her family.  I saw lots of adults and children with disabilities, and I am always pleased at how well Disney treats them.  Even though I was stared at right and left all over the place, they are usually little children who don't know any better and whose parents didn't teach them any manners.

I am always impressed how Disney is innovating constantly.  They never sit on their laurels, but continuously are updating, without destroying beloved entertainments.  I still love the Pirates of the Caribbean and It's a Small World ride, and I still love the World Showcase at Epcot.  My newer favorite is the African Safari at Animal Kingdom.  It's like watching National Geographic Wild in real life!

Disney started these parks years ago, when parks were just for kids.  He wanted to create a park that the whole family could enjoy together.  And now look at it, parks all over the world.  

I know some people don't like Disney.  Like Ford, Morgan, Carnegie, Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, and other American titans of economy, life as we know it would be drastically different.  They were successful because they knew what people wanted, and they met that need.  This is part of what makes America great, that anyone with a dream, the will, and the ability, can make their dreams come true.  Like my parents, who weren't able to go to college, who started out with no home to call their own, worked hard all their life, made sacrifices, and ensured the safety and welfare of their children.  I can't thank my parents enough for teaching me the values that I hold dear.  I will forever be in their debt.  I love you mom and dad!

It's Official, I'm a Teacher!

After 2 years of college classes, and 1 year of substitute teaching, I am finally and officially a teacher!  I got a very part-time job as an adult ESL teacher, for 9.5 hours a week.  I would have preferred the 19 hours a week position, but the boss wanted to split the position between 2 people.  A part of me feels like, the other teacher is married and has children, this is all I have!  But another part reminds me that I am thankful to have a job teaching the same students I have been volunteering with for the last 8 years.  

I don't know if it has sunk in yet.  Maybe it will if I get more hours.  But whenever I am planning lessons or correcting homework, then I feel official.  I feel pretty important.  I feel pretty good, considering I wasn't sure if I ever would be able to work again someday.  I had tried and failed so much that I was weary of ever trying again.

But I thank God for this opportunity, I would not be here without Him.  And I am thankful for my parents who have provided for me so I can go back to school without debt hanging over my head.

9-11

It will be the 16th anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attacks in 5 days.  I hope we never forget this day, where nearly 3,000 innocent people died, thousands more injured, and more dying now due to the after affects of the attacks.  I have read so many books where 9-11 affected the writer, and have seen many documentaries about 9-11.  It has permeated our culture in almost every way.  Yet, we still are fighting this war on terror.  I wonder if we will ever win?  I hate to say it, but I doubt it.

If history is our guide, we have seen Islamic terrorist organizations come and go, and come back again.  Al Queda, the Taliban, Boko Haram, ISIS, the list goes on, depending on time and place.  But their goal is the same, to kill all infidels, and to destroy our world.  That is the gist of it.  

And there is no excuse for it.  Some people blame economy, poverty, lack of education, etc.  But we have seen lone wolf attacks by people who lived here, in America, who had an education.  So that can't be it.  And millions of people around the world live in poverty and have lack of resources, and they don't act out in violence.  So that isn't it.

These groups are just bullies, gangs of thugs that are bent on destruction.  I wonder if they really believe in the fundamentalist Islamic rhetoric, or they are just using it as an excuse.  A convenient way to justify their heinous actions.  They act like a cult, if you don't agree with them, then you are destroyed.  

And it seems to never end.  We chased Al Queda out of Afghanistan, but they just went into Pakistan.  We supposedly chased out the terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan.  But once our troops left, the terrorists were back.  Not a surprise.  Now what do we do?  The same thing?  We know from history that half-assed attempts will never work.  So either we go in full force or leave them to their own devices.  Unfortunately, we have left them, and now look what has happened, they are back, and the people, the regular folks just trying to survive, are paying the price for our negligence.  

One could look at this as humans being humans, there will always be terrorists, etc.  But I feel for the thousands, if not millions, of people around the world being killed or chased out of their communities, abused and neglected, and living in fear.  They did not choose to be born where they are.  They want to live in a land that is dying.  

It makes me appreciate my little life, such as it is.  I live in the greatest country on God's green earth.  I have freedom of religion and speech.  I have an education.  I have a job.  I have my family.  I have a home.  What more do I need?