and then the day before yesterday we spent the day in Disney, mostly Epcot Center mostly because Rasputin was late (royally upsetting Helena and her mom cuz they like things on schedule and had other things to do) and we waited around the front entrance for him instead of enjoying the parks... since it was my first trip back into the wonderful world of color (Disney, doesn't that reference date me... perhaps I do it to eliminate the small minded agists that seem to be everywhere, but that's a different rant so we'll stay with whatever this one was going to be about if we can find it again), I was disappointed to see so little... Helena does not like crowds, so rarely goes even though her mom is retired Disney and can get us in for free... for those of us who do not have easy free access, the prices are insane (over $400 for the annual pass I used to get for under $200... I had annual passes to everything {and I mean everything} from the seventies through 1997 when Toronto happened... I renewed again in 2000 when I returned, but found nobody who wanted to go anywhere anytime (how depressing... where is the life, Orlando?... just in the tourists?... wake up and smell the excitement and wonder and foods and flowers)... and besides, now I am very poor)... but before I digress into a pity party, let's move on...

the day before yesterday was Disney for the kids... they left the house at 6:30am to ride in with Precious's best friend (who we shall call... Stew, at least for one name, at least for now) cuz Stew's papa works part time out at the mouse house and gets them in for free... they (Stew, Precious, Heidi, and another friend) spent the day at MGM Studios... they were stuck there because the fourth friend had a one-park-only pass because she had to pay her way in because a Disney employee (or retiree) can only get three people in for free any given day and she (the fourth friend) had the $66 for a one day one park pass, but not the $106 required for the one day park-hopper pass that lets you, well, park-hop... they appeared to have much fun...

Helena and her mom and I ate at the German place (if you have not been to Epcot Center at Disney World, it's divided into two main areas, a Future World that provides lots of tenchonological playthings for kids of all ages (along with expensive food and toys and trinkets to buy) and the World Showcase area that is a dozen or so (I think maybe eleven) little pieces of countries around the world (Mexico, China, Norway, Germany, Italy, USA, Japan, Morocco, France, England, Canada... did I leave any out?... that's strickly from memory of spending long days wandering the parks for many years, which inpresses me {memory does, that is}, since I've not been out there until this weekend for five years and have not hung out there since the early nineties... I once knew every crack and crevise of the place)... so anyway, we ate at Germany, which is a buffet serving up German foods (logic, huh?)...

good food, fun show, and very friendly people... except for the couple who appeared to be at war with each other and anything that they sat near... see, in Germany (the Disney version, not the country), they sit you at eight person tables with six to eight people so if you come in with a group of less than eight, you're bound to be sitting and eating (and hopefully chatting) with strangers... maybe they think that will keep people from pigging out at the buffet... or perhaps the reasining is not so cynical or insiduous and they just want to give people from all over the opportunity to chat with others from different cultures about their Disney adventures or whatever... yeah, that's the ticket... the very expensive and shiney-happy smiley-faced ticket...

Stew's dad was able to get the fourth girl (who was cute, but has not yet come around enough to be named in these rambles, so for now she shall be known as the fourth girl) into Epcot by schmoozing with one of the ticket takers... this allowed them to see most of the fireworks (as much as we could from between the trees at the England-town where we rushed to get to before closing cuz Stew had a craving for Fish and Chips (and probably had eaten nothing buy snacks and junk all day so was starving for some realer food)... note to tourists: watch the fireworks from a vantage point that does not include trees directly between you and the fireworks... ah, but it was still fun to wander through the crowds and watch the eye-candy...

oh yeah, the Fish and Chips place was blocked off because they send up the first big rocket right over the main street of England and they take the safety precaution of cordoning off that small area that happens to contain the fish and chips place... alas, food had to wait...

on the way home we (that would be Raspy and I) finally pulled off the April Fool's joke on Precious (that went over quite well, I think)... it went something like this (first some brief background)... Precious and Stew are avid fans of Josh Groban... I mean avid... probably beyond avid... it may already be interfering with their lives more than is totally healthy since everything seems to have a reference to Josh, though I am not sure if it's reached a point where they are completely ready to have his baby yet... at least not unless he was going to be around to support them and be part of their lives... they are sensible girls, deep down... I think...

but it would appear that this Josh obsession has started effecting their ability (and stubility as well, but that's another story) to concentrate at school as reflected by grades that are slipping in the last reporting period and the total disregard for any household responsibilities unless reminded a dozen times that natural consequences may be followed by parental consequences that could include limits on computer access (which is their primary method of nurturing and spreading this Joshmania) and reduction in funding (did you know that the average 16 year old girl's weekly budget generally exceeds their IQ?... yes, well there must be scientific studies somewhere to prove it, but around here the fact that Precious is intelligent (IB program, if that means anything to you) means her budgetary needs usually exceed the weekly household income and while she's generally a responsible girl, lately she's been spreading her wings into the land of less-responsible-girldom (and scampering into the irresponsible forest at times, which can not all be blamed on Josh, I suppose)...

anyway, bringing this ramble back closer to the point, everything is Josh around here these days... so Rasputin's idea for an April Fool's joke naturally included the tenor singer, at least in spirit... it was a stroke of genius...

my originating in NYC helped, since one of the most well-known Grobanites (the term they use to describe their Josh obsessions online) is from New York and when my phone rang at the preset time (programmable cells phones helped in this AFJ... that's April Fools Joke, in case you got lost somewhere between the lines) as we were driving home from Disney (conveniently in two cars so that Precious and Stew were in separate cars {which didn't quite take the crowbar and explosives we thought it might require... not to suggest that the two of them are joined at the hip or anything... they are joined at the Josh, among other places and cute guys, but not at the hip... at least not yet}, but once again I digress... thank you for loving it)...

so there we were in the cars, Precious in mine and Stew in Raspy's (each with another person for added interactive potential, or at least audience)... my phone rang and I answered with "Connie, thanks for calling back"... I subtly let Precious hear my half of the conversation (my fake conversation, mind you) that let it slip that Raspy and I were trying to get super secret tickets to a super exclusive special benefit concert Josh was doing at some huge estate on Long Islang, NY for some charity (and any true Grobanite would have no doubt that Josh would be happy to do such a thing, he's just that wonderful, ya know?)...

the catch was that the private benefit concert and post concert party date was during the week Precious will be in Germany, but there's no reason Stew and a few of her other friends had to miss it since Connie was good enough to get us access to six tickets just because she's so sweet and understands teenage obsessions and of course, I am a fellow New Yorker and schmooze real good (go ahead, clear your throat, I can wait)...

so amazement and excitement at the realization of what my conversation was supposed to be about turned into panic over how to get out of the Europe trip (already paid for, no refunds) or at least how to fly back for the night of the concert party was bubbling over in my car while amazement and excitement and pity over her best friend having to miss the moment of a lifetime was bubbling over in Raspy's car as we drove along side by side at seventy miles an hour on one of the newer highways that eventually will circle the Greater Orlando area...

after hanging up with Connie I called Rasputin and more detail slipped into the girl's ears... and the passengers of both cars swammped cell phones and bounced around chatting about the possibilities and potential tragedy and unbelievable luck they had to have this opportunity...

it's a forty five minute ride home from Disney...

Rasputin told Stew the truth first, since she wasn't the primary victim of this AFJ... she could be seen in his car bouncing up and down and laughting somewhat hysterically... Precious might have assumed that was excitement over being able to attend the part (empathy over Precious having to miss it apparently took a little longer to set in)... Precious could be seen exhasperatedly pondering methods of escape from her European obligations, certain that she would not miss the night with Josh and Grobanite friends in Long Island even if she had so swim all the way from England or France (and that would be the actually soil of the country named England, or France... not the Disney version at Epcot Center where Helena and her mother and I ate earlier this day, the day before yesterday, mind you)...

finally, I handed my phone to Precious and Rasputin asked her what day it was... she, being the intelligent girl she is who can handle pressure, remembered it was April second... the next question she was asked was, "what was yesterday?"...

the light went on...

yes, I suppose it could be said that we are cruel... and perhaps it might be said that we are excellent liars/actors (there must be a difference, but we who love the theatre {I must have mentioned somewhere that Precious is deeply into the drama department this year somewhere in my rambles} don't nit-pick over such trivial details)... she apparently swallowed the bait hook, line, and singer... I mean sinker...

really, it was an unconscious typo...

we laughed a lot over a couple of Donato's pizza's just before heading home and falling asleep (nodding off was starting for a couple of us at the pizza table)... by all appearances, everyone enjoyed the day and the ride home and even the AFJ (though Raspy and I may be wary of potential retaliation come next year)...

and we all hope your weekend was just as much fun J

. o O ( NOTES ARE THE NEW HAPPY PILL ) O o .
(just let me know you were here)