by David Smith
The Jungle Cruise ‘skipper’ was spieling with a lot of animation. “Look out on the left…it’s a charging hippo! Duck!” After the mechanical hippo dropped back down below the water line, the skipper added, “You can’t trust charging hippos…it’s the hippos that carry cash you can trust!” The crew of guests, already laughing throughout the ride laughed heartily at the joke, Malaysia included. The added moment of danger added to the shrewd humor.
Blain especially enjoyed the charging hippos and the way “Missy” buried her face in his chest at that moment.
When exiting their Jungle Cruise boat, Blain saw Bill Roberts, the bass player in his band and called him over.
“Bill, this is Missy Johansen from Switzerland. She and her sister Laura were the ones I was talking to last night at our gig,” Blain said, introducing Missy to his friend and band mate. Last night at the bar, Blain had introduced both Laura and Missy to Joe Dennis, his drummer, but he didn’t get to introduce them to Bill.
“Great to meet you,” Bill said with an infectious smile. “You look really familiar,” Bill added, looking at Malaysia. She hoped her sunglasses, hat and dark hair was enough. Bill shrugged, then said, “Hope you enjoyed our show!”
“It was great…and you guys are a really, really good band!” Malaysia said, shaking hands with Bill.
“Thanks, Missy!” Bill said as one of the other ride operators came over to Bill. “Oh, I gotta take the next boat out, guys. Blain, see you at practice next week, right?” Bill asked, walking toward the loading portion of the dock.
“Yep, I’ll call you to confirm.”
“Have fun you two. Nice to meet you, Missy,” Bill called out behind him just before jumping in the newly emptied boat and grabbing the microphone to start spieling to the next group of guests waiting on the loading dock to board.
They caught the 2:00pm show at the Golden Horseshoe Review, the bawdy, hilarious comedy review that featured Billy Hill and the Hillbillies. Malaysia couldn’t remember laughing so hard, at least not since thirty minutes earlier when she was on the Jungle Cruise laughing equally hard.
Before the show had begun, Blain and Malaysia walked up to a counter that resembled an old-fashioned saloon styled bar. He ordered Diet Pepsi for both of them from a waitress he had once dated before working at Disneyland, but remained friends with. He introduced Missy.
“Nice to meet you, Missy,” ‘Margo’ said, dressed in her red and black can-can dress. “You look very familiar,” Margo commented while delivering two red, white, and blue cups to the countertop. She then looked at Blain, forgetting about Missy for a moment. “And you look great, Blain.”
“Nice of you to say, Margo. So do you. Still going with Al?” Blain asked about Al Smith, a buddy of his who worked in the Parking Lot. He introduced Margo to Al a few months after Blain had started working at Disneyland.
“Yeah, we are still going out. He’s a good guy,” Margo said.
Malaysia caught a ‘Not as good as you,’ look in Margo’s eyes as she looked at Blain.
The lights began to dim and an announcer came on the speakers announcing the show.
“Good to see you, Blain. And it was nice meeting you too, Missy. Enjoy the show,” Margo said, turning away then slowly turned back to face Missy. “I wish I could place where I’ve seen you before,” Margo said, shaking her head as if it would loosen a memory. “Oh well. It will probably come to me later. Have fun and enjoy the show.”
Blain lead Malaysia back to their table where he leaned into Missy’s ear as music started playing in the intimate western showroom. “I think you must look like someone that works here, Missy. That’s the second time someone working here said that they thought you looked familiar.”
“I just have that common, everyday look about me, Blain,” Missy said, batting her eyes.
“Yeah, right,” Blain said, looking into her eyes. Blain put his hand on hers, “You are far from common and I am sure I would have noticed if someone as amazingly beautiful as you were working here.”
“Shhhh, the show is about to start,” Malaysia said, taking her hand from his and putting her finger to Blain’s lips.
For a moment, Blain felt something stir in him. He smiled as they both turned towards the stage just as Billy Hill began playing on a banjo.
On Indiana Jones, she was amazed at the detail and was genuinely scared for a moment when the giant boulder started rolling toward their jeep. Blain put a protective arm around her on the ride for a moment, not sure if he should keep it there. After the scary parts went by, he started to remove his arm.
“No, keep it there. You make me feel safe,” Malaysia said, reaching for his hand and pulling it over her shoulder. Blain enjoyed feeling the soft skin of her neck and shoulder as they ride moved them through one treacherous scene after another.
After the ride, Blain wanted to hold her hand, but he hesitated. He was surprised at his tentativeness. He had never been shy or timid around a girl before. But Missy, she seemed very special—no, very unique—to Blain for some reason. He knew she would be leaving the U.S. in a matter of days, and that there was no chance of him and her having a relationship…at least one that could be explored and deepened over time. He was content in wanting to show her things that she would remember about Disneyland, hoping she would enjoy herself and be able to talk about her trip with more enthusiasm when she returned home to Switzerland.
After Indiana Jones, Blain led her out from the exit and turned to their left towards New Orleans Square.
“Hey here’s a little trivia that you might like,” Blain offered as they passed the Tarzan Tree House to their left.
“Tell, me,” Malaysia said.
“See that large tree?” Blain asked pointing to his left as they walked towards the end of Adventureland entering New Orleans Square.
“Can hardly miss it, it’s huge,” Malaysia said.
Blain pulled Malaysia to the side, out of the traffic of guests moving in and out of Adventureland.
“You will appreciate this. That tree is now called Tarzan’s Tree House. But, originally, up until around nineteen ninety-nine, the tree was inhabited by a family from Switzerland.”
“Swiss Family Robinson,” Malaysia said quickly, surprising Blain. “All our students have to read that story in school, one of those mandatory selections,” she added, looking up at the tree. “So, you are saying that the tree and tree house up there were once Disney’s version of the Swiss Family Robinson?”
Blain nodded. “Actually, it is patterned after the tree house used in the Disney’s movie. I don’t know how close the movie was to the book, but I remember watching it years ago as a young kid and the tree house was the coolest thing I’d ever seen.”
“That is an enormous tree,” Malaysia said. “What kind of tree is it?”
Blain laughed. “The concrete kind. It isn’t real. There are some three hundred thousand hand-painted leaves up there,” Blain said nodding to the tree top. “If we have time later, I’ll take you up and show you what used to be the ‘master bedroom,’” Blain said taking Malaysia’s arm and walking her back into the slipstream of guests moving like a river through the area.
“Master bedroom?” Malaysia asked with a suspicious smile.
“Don’t get excited. It isn’t there anymore. At least the bed isn’t,” Blain said looking at Malaysia. “They did have a skylight, however, similar to one they had in the movie that the Robinsons could open above the bed and watch the stars.”
“How romantic,” Malaysia said, picturing a large comfortable bed that looked up at the sky.
“Guess they couldn’t find a mirror,” Blain joked, finding the start of the line for Pirates of the Caribbean. “But, I agree. That would be romantic, indeed,” Blain said.
Malaysia smiled at the thought for a moment before her attention was drawn to the building in front of them. “So what is this Pirate ride I’ve heard so much about?” Malaysia asked, now looking up at the arched tunnel that marked the start of
the line in which they had just joined. “Is it like the movie Pirates of the Caribbean?” Malaysia had seen the first movie starring Johnny Depp.
“Let’s say that the movie was loosely based more on the ride than the ride being based on the movie…especially since the ride opened around the mid sixties, I think. You will just have to experience it. I really can’t explain it and I really wouldn’t want to try,” Blain said. “It is one of those unique and magical adventures that defy definition.”
Malaysia smiled at Blain, looking forward to seeing this for herself.
While in line, Blain asked Missy about her parents, whom she truthfully could tell him about, about her town, which again, she could be honest about. However, when Blain asked if she worked or went to school, she had to lie.
“I’m studying advertising and marketing,” Malaysia answered Blain. “I plan to start in the fall at the University in Berm.”
“That is very cool. What do you want to do after you get your degree?”
Malaysia hesitated. “I don’t really know. I like music and radio. I might see if I can get something in those areas,” Malaysia said, being half honest.
“You would be great in either area. Do you play any instruments?”
“Don’t laugh. I can play the accordion.”
“No way!”
“Yes…and the alphorn.”
“Okay, I know what an accordion is, but what is an alphorn?”
Malaysia laughed. “It’s that really, really, really long horn that lays on the ground.”
“Wow, sounds like you need to have some really, really, really great lungs to play the thing.”
“It isn’t easy,” Malaysia guessed. She had never played an alphorn—or an accordion, for that matter—in her life.
When they got to the loading dock, Blain said hello to several cast members he knew.
“Jason, how are you doing?” Blain said to the guy who told him to take ‘row five,’ the back seat of the five-row boats.
“Hey, Blain-O…what are you up to? I guess you’re off today?”
“Yep, I’m off Sundays and Mondays. I’m showing my friend Missy the Park,” Blain said as he and Malaysia stepped over to the last row, waiting for the next boat.
“You look really familiar,” Jason said, pointing to Malaysia. Malaysia had a minor panic attack, having just gone through the same thing with Margo in the Horseshoe Review show and Bill on the Jungle Cruise not more than an hour earlier. “I can’t put my finger on it,” Jason said. He then quickly added, “Oh, back to work, have fun you two.” Jason was asking the next group how many they had in their party as the next boat came up and the loading gates opened for Blain and Malaysia’s boat.
“That’s three,” Blain said, holding up three fingers as Malaysia and he got into their boat.
Malaysia didn’t know how long her little charade might last with Blain.
As their Pirates of the Caribbean boat was slowly launched from the underwater conveyer belts into the gentle-flowing lagoon from Laffite’s Landing, Malaysia looked all around, taking in the detail of the simulated evening on the bayou. Across the way was the Blue Bayou restaurant.
“I don’t know how hungry you are, but I pulled some strings and got us reservations at six-thirty to eat there if you want?” Blain said, pointing across the dark waters at the quaint and intimate restaurant within the Pirates of the Caribbean building.
“I will certainly be hungry by then…and that place looks so…” Malaysia wanted to say romantic. “So peaceful.”
“Great,” Blain said, looking at his watch, pushing the button so the light illuminated the dial. It was four-thirty. Blain thought of something unique they could do to pass the time after Pirates.
“So, really, what is this ride all about, anyway?” Malaysia asked interrupting his thoughts just as the boat headed into the darkness that led to the first waterfall.
“I told you. You will just have to experience it,” Blain said.
Up ahead, a skull was hung overhead on a brick archway. To Malaysia’s amusement, the skull was talking… “Beware, there be squalls up ahead…”
“What are ‘squalls’,” Malaysia asked, hearing the narrating skull mention the word.
“You’ll see.”
Just then the boat plunged down the first waterfall. Being in the back seat, Malaysia was shielded from seeing the rushing water up ahead so she was taken completely off guard when the boat lunged forward and down.
Malaysia hid her face in Blain’s chest as the boat gained speed and then landed at the bottom of the down-ramp with a huge splash that cascaded water out from each side of the plunging boat.
As the boat settled into the ride flume, Blain smiled at Malaysia and said, “That’s one.”
“You mean there’s another?”
“Maybe.”
After the second, shorter waterfall, Malaysia sat up and took in the incredible detail with all the pirates, animals, and music. It was an amazing experience for her. She was humming the catchy tune, “A Pirate’s Life for Me” after hearing it right after the first waterfall and then again later in the attraction. Her head was turning every which way, trying to take in the 360 degree scenery. She saw the pirate in the “Master Suite.” The magnifying glass held in his bony fingers exaggerated the skeleton’s teeth. She loved seeing the treasure scene with all the realistic gold, silver and other valuable looking objects.
She laughed at seeing the city square with the ‘Brides for Sale’ and the various animals depicted with different pirates as they sang the theme song.
Remembering scenes from the movie, “Pirates of the Caribbean”, Malaysia was equally thrilled seeing depictions of Captain Jack Sparrow within the ride, making the experience both something new and something familiar all at the same time.
As the boat went up the up-ramp at the end of the ride, she said, “We have to go on that again!”
The exit of the Pirate’s of the Caribbean led through the Pieces of Eight shop that, among other things, featured pirate hats, pirate swords and pirate flags. On one of the shelves was a box of pretend jewelry; rings of simulated rubies, diamonds and emeralds filled the box.
“Hey, Missy, I want to buy you something to remember this day by,” Blain said. “What’s your favorite color?” Blain asked before Malaysia could see what he was talking about.
“Green…like your eyes,” Malaysia said with a laugh.
“Green it is,” Blain said as he scavenged through the box until he found two identical rings with a green stone. The rings were adjustable and very inexpensive but were not overtly ugly. In fact, upon casual observance, they could pass for a reasonable facsimile of a real ring just with an oversized diamond shaped plastic stone mounted in the middle of the band. Below the plastic gem, the ring itself was metal but with a gap in the center to expand or contract the size.
“Usually I don’t buy my date expensive jewelry until at least the third date,” Blain said looking at Malaysia with a grin. “But I feel a need to make an exception this one time.”
“Oh, my, no, you really shouldn’t,” Malaysia said, mocking his own tone. “I couldn’t possibly accept such a lavish gift!”
“Nope, I insist,” Blain said, taking the two rings to the counter where he said “hi” to ‘Donny,’ the cast member wearing a black apron and dressed like a pirate.
“Four dollars and ninety-five cents,” Donny said.
“Check it out. I’m a generous, giving guy,” Blain said, exaggerating the point by saying, “Keep the change!”
Malaysia laughed as Blain led her out of the store with their ‘posh’ jewelry in a small paper bag.
“I present to you, Missy Johansen, this ring; a true symbol of my affection and subservience to you,” Blain said, now sitting next to Malaysia on the very same bench he had first spotted her sitting on the day before. He slipped one of the two rings he just purchased over her ring finger on her left hand. He then put the matching ring on his own hand.
Malaysia covered her mouth to keep from laughing too hard. “Does this mean we are married?” Malaysia asked, admiring the fake emerald setting.
“Yes, and now we must consummate our marriage,” Blain said with a straight face.
“Here? With all these people around?” Malaysia said, putting her hand over her chest in mock dismay.
“Why yes; the more witnesses, the better!”
“I’ll get back to you on that one,” Malaysia said, laughing and standing up, taking Blain’s hand in hers. “Where to next, lover-boy?”
CHAPTER 17
Like Father, Like Son
Thursday, Dec 15th, 1966
11:55am
Wolf raced down the stairs and out the double front doors of the administration office building, dodging several cast members and supervisors who were just about to open the doors when he bounded out. He ran with incredible speed, running through the backstage area as if he were a panther in the jungle streaking towards an escaping gazelle.
Running through the cast member’s door next to the Opera House that opened into the Park, Wolf ran across the Main Street hub weaving in and out of groups of startled guests, dodging strollers, youngsters, and couples holding hands. He ran past the Christmas tree at the apex of the Square and towards the south side of the Emporium on the other side of the street. He glanced up at the second floor of the Fire Station, seeing the small windows of Walt’s apartment, knowing full well that he may be too late.