December 28, 2012: Excelsior!

Today is National Chocolate Candy Day. You can get so many different chocolate things at Walt Disney World. Practically every store, restaurant or stand sells something chocolate and, remember, calories at Walt Disney World don’t count. That alone is reason enough to go but wait, there’s more.

In 1895, the world’s first movie theater (or is that theatre) opened in Paris, France. Without movie theaters there would be no Walt Disney World but since there are movies, let’s head over to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and ride The Great Movie Ride. It’s the perfect ride for me because I love the movies. The last time we were there, I rode it and it was messed up. I wish I had a camera with me. The entire ride is different when you are about 20 feet off the mark every time the ride car stops.

EXCELSIOR! True believers! It’s Stan Lee’s birthday. Stan is one of my lifelong heroes. I’ve read Marvel comics all my life and Stan was the brain behind some of, if not most of, Marvel’s greatest characters. Disney hired Stan several years ago and then, the next thing you know, they bought Marvel. You think these guys don’t plan ahead? I am so happy that I lived long enough for the technology to catch up to Stan’s comic book visions. It is so wonderful to see Spider-man, Captain America, Thor, Iron Man and all the others look and act on the screen the way they looked in my head. You see comics, for all of their visual stimulus, never looked as good on the page, on cartoons or in live action as they looked in my head. In my mind, they were real, they looked real, they acted real and I was a hero as well. Thank God for Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Bernie Wrightson, Mike Grell, Steve Ditko and all the other great writers and artists who made me want to be a hero. Happy 90th birthday, Stan. Go to WDW and do something nice, be a hero to a child, make it a magical day.

Remember, your best excuse is always: waiting for your dreams to come true.