Zippity Do Dah

I remember the first time I ever went to Disney World. I was twenty one and so excited. I think I entered every contest there ever was as a child, trying to win a trip to Disneyland, so this was a really big deal -- finally getting to go to Florida.

Back then I couldn’t wait to ride those oversized teacups and eat dinner at Cinderella’s castle. I had a list a mile long and my husband was very kind. Not once did he tell me how juvenile I was acting. He just took pictures.

I have pictures of me with Little Oscar and the wiener mobile. Pictures of me with Mickey Mouse when he was water skiing. Pictures of me in my big floppy white sun hat and those treasured white sandals hugging people all over the place.

But…the picture I have the fondest memories of, was one of me and Brer Bear! It was the middle of the afternoon and I saw him over near an umbrella table. I rushed over grabbing his hand and telling him how glad I was to meet him, never noticing the long line of children I cut in front of! Looking back, I can’t believe no one yelled at me, or got angry, but Brer Bear just grabbed me up in a huge bear hug and twirled me around. Then he planted a big Brer Bear kiss on my forehead and posed this way while my husband took pictures. Afterwards he hugged me again and waved good bye again and again until I couldn’t see him anymore.

Silly, you say? It certainly was. After all I was no child, but Burl Ives was Grandma’s cousin and I grew up on stories of Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox and the songs that went with them. All of this just melded together into one silly little girl bursting out of my grown-up body and allowing me to be an exhuberant child again that afternoon so long ago.