The next day of our band trip to Florida was going to be epic!!!! Walt Disney World!!! This would be my first visit to the happiest place on earth and I was bringing some extra happiness with me just in case. After breakfast, I ingested a bit of magic dust...heck I'm sure Tinkerbell wouldn't have minded too much. After all, she was always spreading some kind of magic dust every time she darted to and fro. The marching band were due to perform in the parade that day so I was totally devoid of any responsibility. The jazz band had played their gig the day before.... so today...we were spectators only.
It felt like a warm blanket of love had been placed around my shoulders that morning as we got off the bus. We had been instructed to meet in front of Liberty Square in exactly four hours so we had plenty of time to explore the theme park and all it's different lands. I remember standing in the lines of several rides and feeling like the line was the ride itself!!! It was so much fun!!! I keep running into other Jazz band members as the line snaked around and greeting them each time.... as if it were the first time I'd seen them!!! "well, hello Stevie, What are you doing here? " " Don't forget to bring the important papers with you tonight!!!"
The absolute best was SPACE MOUNTAIN!!!! In my state of mind, it was not a far stretch to imagine that I WAS IN SPACE. Hell, I guess I really was. That ride broke down all dimensions of reality and blew away any physics of space and time!!!! I was in the 5th dimension and it was awesome!!!! There were other rides but Space Mountain is the one that I remember the most. After that, the next few hours are kind of blank, but I know that I was experiencing a concentrated feeling of goodwill and ecstasy that lasted through out the day.
The next thing that I can clearly remember is meeting the rest of the band and our band director in front of Liberty Square. The Marching Band were getting ready to join the parade and were all dressed and standing in line. A few feet away from the parade was a show going on in the street across from the train station. There was music playing and women in pioneer clothing dancing and singing. I was feeling so good that I couldn't help myself....and to my band directors dismay, I joined them and began dancing and singing with the women at the top of my lungs. I don't think it was supposed to be an audience participation thing but, I just couldn't stop myself. I has high kicking and twirling in circles and may have even performed one of my famous hand stands where I actually stood on my head. I was laughing and clapping my hands when it dawned on me that perhaps I WAS HAVING MAYBE A LITTLE TOO MUCH FUN?????
The dancing ladies were enjoying my dancing abilities but after my 20th windmill, my band director was starting to look a little worried. I came out of my trance long enough to reassure him that today was indeed, the greatest day of my life!!! I don' think that helped the situation much and all he could say was, "I can see that". I don't remember much after that. I'm told I had a wonderful rest of the day. I really don't remember the party that we'd been planning earlier in the Space Mountain line either, but I'm sure It was incredible.
By this time of our trip, the chaperones we on to us. There was something not quite right with these long haired musicians. Of course, I can understand their worry now. They were in charge of our safety and we were trying our damndest to not playing it safe. I still use the phrase, 'It was the greatest day of my life" with my good friend who I still see often. He was there and remembers more about the day than than I do. Do I regret my mischievous ways? Not really. It was an incredible experience but I'm glad there were not cell phones, emails, social media or other stuff like that then. It would have ruined the whole experience. Like I've often said, It was a lot more fun to be a kid in the 70's than a parent in the 2000's.
Stay tunes for Part four.
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