teacups

i am in anaheim, ca tonight @ the red roof inn about a mile from disneyland. this brings back fond memories or my very first trip to california. the year was 1984 and i came to anaheim with my brothers and grandparents. my grandparents came to be a part of the church of the nazarene general assembly. it was a fun time for us as we visited cool places like universal studios, angels stadium, the sight of the TV show "gilligan's island" and, of course, disneyland. i have always been a fan of theme parks, and what kid doesn't dream of going to "the best them park on earth"?
disneyland was great! we rode rides like space mountain, astro orbitor, autopia, matterhorn bobsled, peter pan's flight (a favorite - i rode it, like, 5 times in a row), pirates of the caribbean, and haunted mansion (where i remember someone got craped on by a bird while we were waiting in line), and the mad tea party, aka, the teacups. it was there i met the girl of my dreams...chad and i were sitting on the rails waiting in line when i heard someone call out my name. if you were a kid in the early 80s, you know how cool it was to go to the t-shirt shop and get a t-shirt made (admit it, it was COOL!!). well, one of the t-shirts i had made was one with the old Texas logos on the front (big surprise) and my name on the back.
well, when i heard her call my name i looked over at her and her friend with her, and fell off the rail, partly because i was clumsy and partly because a girl was calling my name...LANCE! it is a wonderful thing to hear your name called by someone, and even better when it is a beautiful girl. well, i was happy, and a little embarrassed, that she had such good taste (in clothes) and gave me a shout out. but, alas, we were next up in the teacups and by the time the ride was over, she was gone from my life forever. i didn't even get to say "hi!" back. we went spinning in the teacups and had fun the rest of the day and into the night, but i sometimes think where she went, who was she, does she remember seeing my name on my shirt and calling my name??
well, i do not count that experience as a loss, but rather as a wonderful time of childhood innocence , and, of course, a real cool t-shirt!