A Call From Tommy (With Sammy Squealing In The Background and Anna Talking About The Pooh Ride With Sammy)

Tommy's voice was so excited this morning, when I answered the phone. I knew they had been on their way to Southern California to visit Disneyland. Tommy told me how he could see The Matterhorn and Tower of Terror.

It's something i did with Tommy and Jack and Anna every time we went there with them together. It was a way of calming them a bit. "Who can be the first one to see the Matterhorn or The Tower of Terror." It always worked.

Tommy told about their agenda: Pirates was to be the first ride, eventually going to Jungle Cruise. And then he added this: "Oh yea, we'll go on Haunted Mansion." The boys never liked that ride, and it was a while before Jack enjoyed it. In fact, Jack hated the ride, until Nightmare before Christmas came in theaters.

It's a movie he loves. He even insisted on naming his dog Zero.

Anna, usually so quiet and shy was also talking loudly and laughing with Sammy. When Anna asked Sammy if she wanted to go to Pooh, Sammy's response was interesting. Her little voice made a quick response to something she thought was disgusting. Sammy obviously didn't understand that Pooh was a ride and not something you do each morning.

When Anna was Sammy's age, she loved the ride, and she coaxed to return continually. She did it in a fun way. "I wanna go Pooh," she would say. The reaction of people in the park was interesting. Some would jump out of the way, as if the act were like projectile spewing or something. It made me laugh. It still makes me laugh.

Before the end of the day, Sammy will understand.

"We got Three Day Hoppers," Tommy said proudly. He talked about how they would work their way to California Adventure and go to Soarin'. "And then we'll go on that Grizzly Bear ride," he said excitedly.

"You mean Grizzly Rapids?"Tommy answered me quickly, and I could tell he was absorbing all the sights I also loved--palm trees, flowers in bloom, trees with leaves. These are things you appreciate, when you live where snow falls until June.

"Yea, Tower of Terror. We'll do that one, and then we'll do Tower of Terror and .  .  .  Oh, we'll do Soarin' on the way too."

There was also no question about getting a churro. It's a tradition we discovered in the early days of taking Tommy to the park.

There is no doubt about our experience at Disneyland. It a place with fun memories, not only those with children but grandchildren too.

There won't be any pictures on this blog until Lydia sends them in the next few days.

The top one is something she sent earlier today. I just found it. It's what I call a role reversal. Lydia squeals like a little girl. Anna looks calm, in spite of her hair showing the speed and twist of the ride. Anthony, an old family friend and his family, were also there.

I makes we wish we could have made the visit. But that's what happens, when you get a new pup for Christmas.

The picture at the right shows my two granddaughters, the only ones so far, enjoying a moment of refreshment: Anna with a healthy choice of juice and Sammy sipping her mom's Diet Coke, which she has done for some time now.

She usually grabs the cup with a "death grip" and takes a long sip. Sammy then looks up, eyes sparkling and mouth open wide. "Ahhh," she exclaims both loudly and passionately.

It's yet another thing that makes grandchildren so much fun. Each one has their quirks, their little funny things that make me smile. It's a time when quirks are cute. I have them, buy my Annie says they just make me weird. It's what happens when you become an old fart, besides the rug of hair on your chest and back and the masses of beard that appear in your ears and nose.

The universal question is "Why?" You would think that hair would grow in a spot, where it would be best, but it is the ultimate proof that our Supreme Being has a sense of humor.

The final picture is like every picture we took of all four grandchildren, an instant classic.

Sammy waits to meet Pluto, who stands with someone else in the background. As I remember, this was also a small spot in the park to get a meal, but it was a bit more secluded--a bit more comfortable.

The only thing I heard about the trip at this point was that the park was crowded.

This makes this spot necessary.

But crowded or not, every trip is a special one.