How I Got it All Wrong or, Pocahontas

Last night my kid watched the movie Pocahontas, the Disney version. She came across it by accident, on Netflix, as I surely would have never chosen that film to show her.

Yup, gorgeous. But real? I don't think so.

Why not?

Well, let's start with the serious disregard of history, plus the demeaning of a princess's act of kindness and courage turned into a ploy to save her boyfriend. Plus - a one-shoulder dress that just happens to showcase the girl's body .... mutter.... Lovely though she is, and I do think that Pocahontas is one of the prettiest Disney Princesses ever, the movie was on my Do Not Watch Ever list.

But!!!

The real Pocahontas, in England. OK, girlfriend was still gorgeous.

My kid loved it. LOVED it.

I mean, she kept stopping the film to research what really happened, plus she couldn't wait to find out the end. I've tried to get her interested in the Disney Princesses, to no avail, and it just figures that the one I never showed her captured her interest.

So, Mom is being all PC, and kid is simply enjoying a movie.

There are some things I can take away from this:

1. Kids love history and facts. Once I told my daughter, "Parts of this actually happened" she was enthralled. While I was all excited about Tangled, she was more interested in finding out about Captain John Smith (who did not look like that in real life, FYI, kid.)

2. Kids are going to love what they love, and parents simply can't stop that. Sure, I can provide guidance along the way, but at the end of the day Miss Thing is her own person.

3. My daughter was critical of the music in the movie. "Look, mommy - now even the willow is singing." Not every movie has to be eventually turned into a stage musical, Disney.

What Captain John Smith really looked like. That's very different, now, isn't it.

4. MUST POCAHONTAS HAVE A PERFECT MODEL'S MOUTH AS WELL AS LONG LEGS AND HAIR DOWN TO HER BUTT? REALLY? REALLY? AND HE HAS A CLEFT CHIN AND BLUE EYES.... argh - Obviously, I still have issues with this movie. Does that mean I forbid my daughter's watching it? In the end, I have to say No. Hopefully, I can provide some real historical content soon.

5. *SPOILER ALERT* The ending is really, really sad. No, I'm not talking about the movie - I'm talking about what happened for centuries afterwards. That's the main reason why I didn't want to watch Pocahontas - it makes me too depressed.

Still - back to the main point - my kid really, really loved it. And that, I suppose, is all.

Feelin' the Magic

It's that time again - we are about to take another trip to Disneyworld. And at this point, the adults are far more excited than the kids. 

My sister and I never went to Disney as kids. I don't mean to sound pitiful; we went to Ireland instead. Still, we had no idea what to expect. And I certainly did not expect to fall in love with the place - with all of Orlando, in fact. 

Here's what I can't wait to do there:

Bring on the cheesy animatronics. I just eat that stuff up. Pirates of the Caribbean, and more importantly, It's a Small World, After All - those things have Allie written all over them.

Harry Potter at Universal. That Hogwarts ride is the best ride I have ever been on. I still can't figure out how they did it. Plus, this time my kid is old enough to go on with me. Winning!

Oh, and I want a butterbeer too. And a chocolate frog.

The monorail - honestly, I could ride that thing all day and be satisfied. It takes you from your hotel right to the park. That's magic, in my opinion.

Overpriced food - except we got a free meal plan! Ha ha! So load me up on footlongs and overly large soft drinks.

Souvenirs - On our last trip, my sister got the coolest santa hat EVER. It was a headband with a tall, skinny red hat attached that had a white pompom on the top. I'm so jealous; I have to outdo her this time. Oh, it's on.

But without a doubt, the number one reason: The people who work at Disney. Everyone, from the servers to the characters are good humored. They are nice, and they're sassy at the same time. I like that sassy edge. 

Yup, can't wait.  

A Furry Friend

 Celebrating BlogFlash 2012 with Terri Long. This is Day 2.

Her name was Bim. She was the female of two kittens I got during a time of bad trouble. The male, Bo,  was a large Maine Coone Cat, and he could fetch, like a dog.

When I had to get rid of Bo, Bim came into her own. For one thing, she never grew up. She stayed small, like a little "catlet," and she loved to drink from a running tap. She had false eyelashes; her markings around her eyes made her look like some sort of Disneyfied fish.

One night, while I was studying for my TESOL exams, I went to bed exhausted, forgetting that I had left a soft pretzel in the oven. Bim kept bugging me as I tried to sleep, and I, to my shame, kept shooting her with a water pistol because I wanted to sleep. 


Finally I smelt the burning pretzel. She had been trying to tell me that I needed to get up and turn off the oven.


She used to sleep like a round, furry button right by my stomach. That kept me warm in my chilly apartment, when we couldn't afford the heat. 


Bim was a good cat.