Saturday, December 25, 2010

Christmas Wishes and Prince Philip's Hair

"The moon stared at the princess, and the princess stared at the moon, but the moon had the best of it, and the princess began to cry"

- George MacDonald, The Wise Woman, or The Lost Princess.


I don't think anyone was staring at the moon last night. Christmas Eve leaves kiddies and adults either asleep in their beds or gazing up at the ceiling. Depends on how you handle impatience.

One upon a time I was told that if I went looking for Santa in the living room, where the tree sparkled with electric lights, I would only catch a glimpse of his red coat before he and the presents evaporated like morning dew. I'm pretty sure I was told other things (I remember something disjointed about a Christmas deer). Funny how the most interesting tales come from warnings.

I hope that this wonderful holiday went well for all my readers (and future readers) and even the people who have not discovered this place yet, haha. My far-reaching wishes stretch out beyond the computer screen. Wham! You've got 'em.

I won't talk about what treasures popped out from underneath the wrapping paper this morning. But I will say that something exciting, and maybe trivial, happened while me and the family took our traditional stroll through the Magic Kingdom.

When extended family live states and states away, you tend to form new traditions. Sometimes strange. Mostly fun. Braving the over-capacitated kingdom has become an exciting (and a little foolhardy) journey we make.

We ate at Cosmic Rays; I watched enviously as my dad and brother ate burgers with guacamole sauce under the bun. I chewed on my own plain burger and was secretly jealous (maybe I need new glasses so I can see the menu better. How could I miss that?). The weather windy and sunny at the same time. Children were more violent than usual... maybe it's the promise of toys they are given by their short-tempered parents. The promises I heard were made under exhaustive circumstances. Empty, I'd say.

But it seems as if Santa had one more surprise for me. The daytime Christmas parade was passing through Frontierland and we were taking the shortcut along the boardwalk. Just over the trees, I could see the colorful floats roll by; the sky was full of ribbons and snowflakes and I got painfully excited when I recognized the float with the princes and princesses. I grabbed onto my mother's backpack so she could lead me blindly forward (our path was still jammed) and stood on my toes and looked.

I saw something beautiful and unexpected. I saw Prince Philip. And he had hair.

Should I backpedal? It's simple. I've lived in sunny FL for ten years, and in all the time I've gone to Disney World, I have only seen men casted for Prince Philip who have sported crew cuts. As a lover of tousled hair on men, and an occasional stickler for details, I couldn't understand why all the Philips were practically bald. He had a delightful head of hair in the movie. And a little curly forelock. Where did they get it wrong?

But today, on the Christmas morning, I saw Prince Philip with a full head of lovely fluffy hair. My heart pounded against my chest and I squinted until my eyes were shaped like squished peas (HAHA). I thought I would faint right there, on the boardwalk, and be trampled upon by angry parents with mean little stroller wheels. Maybe a girl wearing an Aurora dress would roll by and tug on my hair, as if saying, "He's my prince, you old lady. We're married. My dress even changed colors during our wedding dance." But, you know, Prince Philip is my favorite Disney prince. So this would be worth it. (I stress Disney prince. I have a top favorite animated prince - can you guess? - but I'll save that for another post, haha).

I managed to keep my footing and sighed as we continued along. The rest of the day went very well, and, when we arrived back home, I dished out some leftover green bean casserole and went looking for proof of my well-endowed (hair-wise) prince. Well, heh heh, I guess he's new. I haven't found anything yet. But I'll remember to keep a look out next time. If his appearance is a gift, then that means that it has to stay long after this magical wintry day is over.

Have a great CHRISTMAS!

11 comments:

  1. I truly think you should add another tick box titled 'Wonderful'.. I loved this post! Particularly the part when you describe the sight "Just over the trees, I could see the colorful floats roll by; the sky was full of ribbons and snowflakes and I got painfully excited when I recognized the float with the princes and princesses."..This post m'dear, is forever brilliantly wonderful...(^.^)

    ReplyDelete
  2. This post made me smile! I have only seen Sleeping Beauty all the way through once, but I've always considered Prince Philip to be the most attractive Disney prince. :)
    Oh, you're lucky to live near Disney World! I've been twice. I have so many fond memories of our last visit which was a year or two ago. I especially love Epcot.

    ReplyDelete
  3. @ All the time in the world Haha, I can't remember how to change those boxes... though I've thought of changing the words. But thanks so much commenting! I hadn't planned on writing a Christmas post, but after seeing dear Philip, I ran home as quick as I could to write it all down.

    @Melee Hi! Yeah, though it's my favorite Disney film, I admit I don't watch it too often. It's not as action-packed, or humorous, as the others. Hm. But still, Prince Philip wins. *high fives*

    It's really great to live so close. It's such a nice place, but it's better when you can enjoy it at a leisurely pace. Haha, yes, Epcot!!! Epcot is my favorite park. What do you like most about it?

    ReplyDelete
  4. I just adore walking around all the different countries. And trying all the food, too! =D
    Also there was (is?) an awesome Beatles' tribute band in the England part. The Beatles are my most favourite band ever. So it was so much fun going to their gigs and singing along with all the songs. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Philip is my favorite Disney prince too! But I've never seen any of the princes - other than on the parade floats - at Disney. Am SO GLAD you got to see one with hair :D (Unrelated, but if I had to be in a Disney movie, it would probably be Beauty and the Beast. SHE GETS A LIBRARY. Although, Ariel gets Prince Eric's castle, with that awesome awesome bathroom.)

    Just wanted to say hi off-Figment :P I'm a first year MFA student, too! Still feeling my way around. But ahhh! So glad I found you on Figment!

    ReplyDelete
  6. @Melee Ah, Epcot. Yes, isn't is relaxing and exciting to be wandering around the countries? It's also kind of fun to see the people working in the shops since they are actually from the country they're working in. The food is great too - have you been during the food and wine festival? I did that for the first time this year, and man, can they could scallops. Yum.

    Yeah, the Beatles' tribute is still there :D It's very popular; my brother and his friend once stayed all day and watched every show - the guys were so impressed that they took pictures with my bro. They were wearing the Sgt. Pepper gear. Oh, and the shop in the back has been invaded with a ton of Beatles merch.

    ReplyDelete
  7. @Lee HIII! It's great to hear from you - and exciting! I mean, I know how useful the makeshift message boxes are, but I'm being stubborn and not making one. It just looks... kind of off. (Maybe I'm too aesthetically inclined for my own good).

    Yay, Prince Philip fans! You know, I think the whole Sleeping Beauty movie is a bit of an underground favorite. There was one year at the parks where tons of little girls were wearing the pink dresses. So cute. Warmed my heart. Now, I think it's Cinderella... but I'm not so sure. It's a transition period, haha.

    Mm, you're right. The princes are very hard to find. At MGM, Eric is in the Little Mermaid show (but that doesn't count) and Aladdin does pose with Jasmine at Epcot. But, yeah, a new mission is to find Philip somehow. I think I need a couple of loud friends to call out his name during a parade - that might be fun.

    Yes! The library! I know, it's so tempting. I'm probably most like Belle... I have nothing against the Beast. I just... but Philip! (And Eric and the sweet bathroom! You're so right.)

    High five for MFAs! Are you in fiction? I would guess so, but you never know. It's so nice to be able to focus on writing (at least, when I'm not teaching, haha). It's a little hard to get used to, but it's very exciting. Are you planning on going to any conferences?

    I'm glad I met you too :DDD Yay, for Figment, bringing writers together.

    ReplyDelete
  8. @CloudyKim

    Hi! :D And officially now: HAPPY NEW YEAR! And omg - aesthetic reasons is EXACTLY why I haven't created a message box. I'm hoping Figment implements a comments-wall type thing soon.

    I've never been to Disney World! I've only been to Disneyland so far. But - I really want to check the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, so hopefully I can do a two birds one stone thing sometime soon.

    I'm in Fiction, too! I didn't teach fall semester, but I will be teaching (English 101) in the spring, so I'm pretty nervous about that. I'll be at the AWP in February, that's all I've signed up for so far! How do you like teaching so far? And are you bringing magical realism stories to workshop? Omg, I'm SO excited, you have no idea haha :P Yay Figment!

    ReplyDelete
  9. No, we haven't been during the food and wine festival. That sounds pretty amazing, though!

    Had I known about them earlier, I would have gone to every show. Even so, we went to 4 of their shows in one day. I felt like a groupie, it was great! ;)
    Oh, yes! We found the shop with all the Beatle merchandise! We had fun there. =D

    ReplyDelete
  10. @Lee Yes, me too. I actually found a really cute picture of a minature letter being up into a minature mailbox. I was like, "Oh that would be perfect!" but... yes, I'll will stand firm. I think I just get really excited and inspired by pictures. I must stand firm, haha. It is good that we can connect on other levels, like our blogs and twitter though. It's just a bit inconvient at times. So, yes, hopefully a wall will be made soon :)

    I've never been to Disneyland! Aww, is the Sleeping Beauty castle really cool? I've always wanted to wander in there. Ah, and Harry Potter - yeah, I can't wait to go. I think we're wating for the hipe to die down so we're not stuck in crazy lines. I really want to actually find some Hufflepuff gear. Yeah!

    Teaching is pretty fun... but scary and kind of awkward at times, haha. You'll feel more comfortable after you make it past the first week - and it also helps to have a great, talkative group of kids. They make the lessons run better. One more thing - decide what rules you want to enforce (I did zero tolerance for late assignments) and stick with it at the beginning of the semester. You can slack later on, but show 'em who's boss. Yay, respect!

    Wow, I'm sure AWP is going to be great. You'll have to blog about it :) I won't be making this year's conference because I went to one in the fall already - I wish I could afford a second trip :D I'm definitely going next year! I think it'll be in Chicago. You're going to do some workshopping while you're there? I'm sure it'll be fun. When I do go, I'll defintely bring something magical realismish. Gotta represent. Haha!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks for the Christmas wishes!!! You too!!! I understand about the hair thing...characters have this special quality to them and when it is gotten right (to a nice degree of detail)...that is such a treat.

    ReplyDelete