Disney's Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights

     Disney Hollywood Studios is host to the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights display. Through a pleasant set of circumstances, I found myself there on a Tuesday night in late November, and I was totally enthralled. The thirty-five miles of lights are all timed to the Christmas music, and Disney’s magic touch has graced this exhibition.

     Between performances, the streets are lit bright as day, but when one of the shows starts (only one song long at a time), the lights go dark, and the crowd stills. Then the first notes of the carol sound, and the lights begin to flash in unison with the rhythm of the song. Christmas trees, angels, nutcrackers, Santa, reindeer, and even the lights shining on a Nativity flash in unison with the beat, wishing everyone a Merry Christmas! The crowd’s energy becomes palpable as the music reaches its crescendo. By the end of the song, the crowd is laughing, dancing, and singing along while speckled with manufactured snow, fluttering down from the surrounding rooftops.

     If you should find yourself in a situation to enjoy this fabulous spectacle, take advantage. You won’t regret it.

     During the evening, I had the pleasure of speaking to one of the lighting technicians. While learning of behind-the-scenes details (they’re having problems with orange lights and probably won’t use them next year), a more amusing tale than the rest came to light (pun intended). Did you know there’s a Halloween cat in the mix?

     The story told was of Disney, Inc. sending the big rigs to pick up the lights from the Osborne’s in Little Rock, Arkansas. When the family toured the display for the first time (nineteen years ago), Mitzi Osborne exclaimed, “There’s my cat!” The technicians at the time did not realize the purple cat with red eyes was not part of the Christmas display, and they had inadvertently taken one the family’s Halloween decorations. They offered to return it to her, but she insisted it stay with Christmas. She loved it. So, a tradition was born.

     Nineteen years later, the cat still graces the display. A fable has grown that if you find the cat, you’ll have good luck. So the techs move it around periodically. That way, no one person can spoil it for the rest of the guests.

     Now, I’m not the world’s biggest Disney fan. There is a great deal of negativity in their organization. However, one cannot deny the joy on people’s faces who are fortunate enough to be a part of this cultural phenomena. If you’re one of the anti-Disney brigade, I suggest you drop the hostility and allow yourself to be a part of the delight the Disney parks can bring.

Merry Christmas

My Daddy was a Tattoo Canvas (before it was cool)

My (step-)dad was a military man. By 1960, he had tattoos all over his body. The artist(s) who did the work deserve praise. A knife pierced the skin of his right forearm. His rank and insignia was blazoned on his right upper arm. A black panther clung to his left forearm, while on his upper left arm, an intriguing woman sat on her haunches, watching everything with a seductive look. Her hands behind her head, she wore a halter top, and shorts. She was an exception. I don’t mean she was the only female tattooed on his body. She was the only one dressed. All of the other women were outlined nudes, in various poses, along his torso and legs. Each would be considered “soft porn” today, but in 1960, it was scandalous!

As an aside, the woman on his upper arm was only ‘dressed’ because he had gone to his mother’s house while on furlough, wearing a tee shirt. She drove him to the local tattoo parlor and made him “tattoo some clothes on that poor girl.”  (Ha!  Go Grandma!)

By the time my dad passed, the tattoos showed their age. The cougar was an unrecognizable blob, his serial numbers were unreadable, and the women were smudged and faded whispers of what they once were.

“Smarter Every Day” recently released two videos that brought my dad and his numerous tattoos to mind. One shows how tattoo needles work by piercing the skin (in slow motion). The second explains the way tattoos can be removed, and has a demonstration of the procedure as well.

While my dad did express regret, from time to time, regarding the extent of the artistry on his body, I’m not sure he would’ve had them removed. On another note, none of his five children have chosen to get tattooed. So far.

American Flag - Sold

Sad, but true...