Elliot came to visit me this afternoon. He told his dad he really wanted to go play with Grandpa. His dad dropped him off and Elliot walked up on the front porch and knocked on the front door. When I opened the door he was grinning wide, he looked up at me saying, Hi Grandpa. Look who came to see you. Look who is here. Its your Elliot! Sue had plans that took her out of the house around 5:00 and that left Elliot and me alone. We played, danced, sang songs, and then we talked. He brought out a tea pot and tea cup from a tea party set we have had since Madilyn was about 18 months old. He pretended to pour from the pot to the cup as he explained, This is warm tea. It will make you feel better. I have no idea where he learned about tea helping to improve how people feel. He told me about his Christmas tree. It reaches so high that its in the clouds and the airplanes fly close to it. They dont hit the tree because that would knock it over. It is decorated and pretty. He has an advent calendar with a small piece of chocolate each day that helps him know how many days until Christmas. He told me he has seen Santa at the mall three times but doesnt want to sit on his lap. But he likes to see him. Then he asked me if I ever saw Santa. I told him Santa wasnt real. Lol. Just kidding. I was just checking to see if you were still paying attention. I actually got out a few old photos of me when I was three or four and sitting on Santas lap. Elliot said, Thats you? And were you scared? We had a long talk about Christmas. I asked if he knew about Peter Pan. He said he knew Captain Hook. We watched the original Disney animated movie from 1953. The three children in the opening scene, John & Michael are acting out the fantasy stories as told by older sister Wendy. That night, they are visited in the nursery by Peter Pan himself, who teaches them to fly with Tinker Bell, and takes them to the island of Never Land where they fought pirates and Captain Hook. I always enjoyed the many versions of the Peter Pan franchise, but especially the 1991 movie Hook starring Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman and Julia Roberts. It was one of the most watched movies on VHS in our home through the 1990s. I told Elliot that this was Uncle Erics favorite movie when he was Elliots age. He thought that was cool and said that maybe Uncle Eric could watch it with him sometime. We laid on the floor in the living room watching until the end. When it was over he asked if we had time to watch a Mickey Mouse show. I said yes and we got pillows off of my bed, brought them onto the living room floor where we watched The Sorcerers Apprentice from Fantasia. Fantasia is a 1940 animated film produced by Walt Disney Productions. The film consists of eight animated segments set to pieces of classical music conducted and performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra. In the movie, Mickey was a lowly apprentice to the great sorcerer. One day, while the sorcerer was away, Mickey tried on his magic hat, giving him supernatural magic powers that got way out of hand creating such chaos. It turned out he had bitten off more than he could chew, resulting in the sorcerer having to clean up Mickeys mess. Elliot was mesmerized, a little frightened at first then just fascinated. He loved both of the movies and it was outstanding to hang out with him. The only thing that could have made this any better was if there was pizza, so we ordered and ate an entire pizza. We had a blast! And we learned a couple things; -- Peter Pan, teaching children the world over that a little pixie dust can allow you to fly. And if a leotard wearing boy who says he never grows old shows up at the window when your parents are out for the evening, its ok to let him in the house and to leave with him without telling anyone. -- All children, except one, grow up. Peter Pan opens the film with this line. -- You know that place between sleep and awake? The place where you can still remember dreaming. Thats where I will always love you. Thats where Ill be waiting. -- Every time a child says, I dont believe in fairies, there is a fairy somewhere that falls down dead, Peter Pan said. -- Captain Hook: A jealous female can be tricked into anything. -- Peter Pan: Tinker Bell! I hereby banish you forever. Wendy: Please, not forever. Peter Pan: Well, for a week then. -- Peter Pan: Dont you understand, Tink? You mean more to me than anything in this whole world! -- The narrator introduces a segment of Fantasia, saying, And now were going to hear a piece of music that tells a very definite story. Its a very old story, one that goes back almost 2,000 years, a legend about a sorcerer who had an apprentice. He was a bright young lad, very anxious to learn the business. As a matter of fact, he was a little bit too bright... Mickey, as the apprentice to the character of the Sorcerer, sees that the mystical Wizard has left behind his tall, pointed magical hat. Mickey dons it and pretends to be the Wizard. Dabbling with spells, he extends his arms toward a broom leaning against the wall. Suddenly, inanimate objects come alive and before long, things get out of control leading to trouble for Mickey and entertainment for us. What a great day. What a pleasure to be a grandfather to three great children who are curios, funny, loving, enthusiastic and absolutely adorable.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 04:15:42 +0000
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