… in New York with my harsh new reality… and to be honest it sucks.

Ever since he was a baby, DJ had grown up on Disney things.  We had a print from a Japanese artist, of the famous mouse ears in a big cloud over the castle, framed and hanging in the hallway next to his room in Pennsylvania.  The vacation album was sitting right there in the dining room for anyone’s perusal.  Three different Buzz Lightyear action figures were in prominent places throughout the house… and yes… there was a Belle doll on an upper shelf along with a Pluto plush.

Then of course, there were the movies.  Countless hours of The Emporer’s New Groove (The Professor‘s favorite), Beauty and the Beast (Blinky‘s favorite… figures right?), Toy Story (Lil Mike‘s favorite), Lilo & Stitch (Danny‘s favorite), and of course… Monsters Inc.  DJ loved Monsters Inc. Everytime we’d put it on, he would sit there right up until the opening credits ended… then he would scramble and leave the room.  He wouldn’t go far though… just on the outside of the room, with his back against the door where he could no longer see the television but could hear it.  There he waited for the “warning klaxon” that signaled the first “scare” was over… and it was “safe” to go watch the rest of the movie.  If you were watching it with him, then you had to go too.  He had to make sure that you were “safe”.  He was fine with the rest… even when Abominable served Sully and Mike the yellow snow cone… he just didn’t like the first “scare”.

Of course, as he grew older he became a Shrek fan.  As adults, we all know that Shrek is really a Disney bashing film… but as a child its all about the green ogre and the talking donkey.  While Shrek 2 became probably the most viewed movie on the DVD player, we would still watch Monsters Inc. at least once a weekend.  Your never too old for the Disney magic… never too old.

He didn’t know that we were going.  I had made the preliminary arrangements in April after talking with Pudding.  I was taking both him and Blinky, since we thought he might have a stroke if he had to leave her behind.  My brother would have arrived this morning to join us and to make sure that they haven’t totally fucked up the Pirates of the Caribbean ride he loves.  My parents would have flown down tomorrow in time for us all go to MGM and ride Star Tours.  Sunday, against my sense of Disney loyalty, I had been talked into going over to Universal.  I was enticed by them having the X-Men… and since DJ loves Spider-Man… well… new generations… new experiences and all that I suppose.  I think my brother really just wanted a reason to get a convertible.

Sure we would have flown back Christmas Eve… before the actual Disney Christmas celebrations… but that was again to prevent two strokes at the thought of not being in THEIR beds when Santa came.  We would have had dinner that night at Puddings.  Undoubtedly there should be a lot of story telling and looking at pictures (the magic of modern technology… really).  There should have been a preview of the upcoming Cereal Wednesday episode on location at Disney, and an intense explanation of how airport security violated my photographic rights by forcing it through the x-ray machine like the Orlando terminal always does.  Of course there should have been the moment where it was time for bed after dinner, presents, and at least three showings of A Christmas Story.  He’d get snuggled into bed… and he should be wearing his own pair of mouse ears instead of a pair that was bought before he was born.  He should sleep under warm covers…

That’s what should be happening.

But it’s not.