Touchstone

What's your safe place?

We all have a touchstone, a haven, a safe place, ground zero- if you will. Someplace we can go to when the world loses it's footing, or when we feel that same world is against us. It's that place where we can go to when we need to celebrate a triumph or nurse the real or emotional bruises. It's that place we feel safest, or happiest. Just the thought or the name will instantly calm a rapidly beating heart or quicken the beat of said heart with excitement & desire. For some it's a childhood home, or someplace you visited. For others it's a church or even a library. For some it's someplace you can only get to in your imagination. Sometimes it's just being in a certain someone's arms. We all know where out grounding point is, some of us long for it and some of us have even given up on it. Whether real or imagined, when we are there we know that for a brief moment in time, we're home. We're safe. And if we're lucky, we feel loved.

Mine place is a little different then most, it has a castle, pirates, princesses, talking/singing birds, and the guy in charge is a mouse. This place has been at the center of my dreams, the site of many of my happiest moments, it's been a refuge against anger, hatred, & violence. It's been a home-away-from-home, a goal, a goalpost, a standard, and a place where dreams can come true.
My place is Disneyland.
You have to understand how deep my ties are with this magical place. My earliest memories are of me toddling along holding Cinderella's hand, being held by Mickey Mouse, and being sung to by Snow White. I don't know why I bonded so strongly and so early to a place built on magic & illusions, but I did. Each visit only had me counting the days until I was able to come back again. My Friends were giant Character versions of my favorite movies and shows, they were handsome Princes and beautiful Princesses, or beguiling Boys who never wanted to grow up. There were Parades and Shows, singers and dancers, and at night . . . Oh at night! The sky came alive with Fireworks and Magic! How could you not be captivated by the Music, the Lights, the Make-Believe! This was my home, where I felt safe, where I felt alive, where I felt loved.

Unless you're gay, you probably don't understand the love we as the misfits feel for the Magic of Disney. On the outside we looked like all the other little boys and girls, but on the inside we knew we were different. We didn't think there was anything wrong with us at that point, just that were weren't the same as other kids our age. It's later in life when labels start getting applied, taunts and name calling, bullying and hate either from our own families or from the world around us that we really understood how different we were. And that's when we gravitated to Disney. In every Disney movie the hero or heroine also doesn't quit fit in, whether they're an orphan or lost, a tomboy or the middle child, too young or goofy, something sets them apart from everyone else. But it's that difference that wins out in the end, gives them that triumph, or helps them to find their version of Happily Ever After. We LGBT little boys and girls somehow knew that this lesson applied to us as well, that in the end no matter how perilous the journey we would find our own version of Happily Ever After. It gave us hope, strength, and resolve to find where our own journeys would take us. That we would be accepted and triumph in the end. It's not just a life lesson for LGBT boys and girls, but all boys and girls. That we are all individuals, we all have that 'something' inside of us, that we deserved to be loved, we deserve to be cherished, and we deserve a Happily Ever After.

When I'm at Disneyland I revel in the Magic and the Make-Believe. I smile & wave at the Characters during a Parade, pose with my favorites at the Photo-Ops, watch all the Shows, and find myself the very best spot to watch Fantasmic and the Fireworks. Yes of course, I do have an Annual Pass so it's easy to go in and just spend the day people watching and walking My Park. I believe in creating Everyday Magic, so I'll stock up on little odds & ends that kids would love like Pins & small Stuffies. So when I see a kid not having the best day, or looking like they're about to turn and run away, I make it a point to get down to their level and ask "How's it going?" or something similar to catch their attention. I try to make them laugh or smile, reminding them how lucky they are to be in such a Magical place, and if it seems ok with the parents, give them a little something to make their day. I've had parents & grandparents follow me to say "thank you" or even offer to reimburse me, but the only reason I do what I do is because I've been there too. All it takes is one person to open your eyes to the Magic around you, and you forget your troubles for just one moment, and you let the Magic into your heart.

Yeah, I'm a Disney Kid and proud of it!