Yellow Poncho Villa…
The weather in Florida has been typical for July; bright, hot, and humid with afternoon/evening thunderstorms. The daytime heat combined with the humidity is almost unbearable, the relief only arriving with the rain. It’s a cooling rain, so if the thunderstorms can be avoided, it is quite pleasurable. However, several thousand Disney World attendees on Tuesday thought differently, including members of our own party, as they all huddled together under various sheltered areas, covered in cheaply manufactured — yet relatively expensive — yellow ponchos.
I enjoyed the rain. Somehow the weather added to the realism of Magic Kingdom’s Adventure Land. The entire section is decorated with a jungle theme, realistic-looking buildings surrounded by cobbled pathways, wooden porches in front of souvenir-laden stalls, real and artificial native plants intertwined with structures and themselves, and pre-antiqued relics such as old cars, luggage, and mercantile signs. The heavy rain smoothed out the fakeness of the area, masking the distinctive Disney stucco and softening the effects of the artificial aging. Only the bright yellow ponchos and sky blue rental strollers grounded the themepark in reality. Easily erasing those from my mind, I was able to imagine myself trekking through a 1940s Columbian or Moroccan town, my backpack filled with supplies, clothes, medicines, and ammunition for my ‘45 instead of the nonfiction that was pull-ups, wet wipes, baby clothes, and diaper rash ointment.
The rain was short lived, the fantasy over just as quickly. Reality is rarely as fun as what results when a sprinkle of imagination is added.
If only I could use a dash to effectively silence three caterwauling, complaining, high-pitched squealing, tantrum-throwing, twelve-year-old, pre-teen girls.
Three? Is Kim regressing?
Not yet! The three consist of Cortney, cousin Darcy, and friend Michelle.