Melinda Palacio
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| Disneyland is one of the few places in California with water fountains. |
The presidential election results
sure gave me a bad case of the blues. Things were so sad at Casa Palacio, so
much so that my husband cancelled our birthday party. Every year, we give a
November birthday party for the two of us and any friends with birthdays in November. Mine usually falls close to Thanksgiving and Steve's is always two days after Veteran's day. Although none
of our friends were in the mood for celebrating, we still managed to gather at my insistence. However, with the possibility that our way of life will take a
dramatic downturn during the next four years, not to mention the
rhetoric of hate and lack of decency bubbling up as the new normal, we were
both dejected and not in the spirit for celebrating.
As someone who is now living the
adult life that my mother did not have the opportunity to experience, I vowed
that I'd see every day as a gift. When my sister invited me to spend the day
with her and the Prince Palacio at Disneyland, I decided to shelf my anxiety
and try to have fun for the day.
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| Melinda Palacio, Emily Palacio and the Prince Palacio |
My mermaid Halloween costume had
inspired my sister to declare that we should go to Disneyland as mermaids. I
went ahead and made her a mermaid crown. We wore long curly wigs
and our crowns, which were a big hit. Many people stopped us to ask
where they could purchase mermaid crowns. Expect to see mermaid crowns on the
streets of Los Angeles. I'm not especially crafty and don't even know how to
make clothes for myself, but I did figure out how to make a mermaid crown. It's
easy and only requires 3 things: a headband, a glue gun, and lots of sea
shells. When I made mine for Halloween, I was surprised by how well it held up
during the parade I joined in New Orleans. Sturdy and easy to make.
When we reached the tram that takes
you from the enormous garage complex to Disneyland's main entrance, a phrase
from the helpful recording about how to enjoy the theme park jumped out. It
said something about a rule prohibiting any guest over the age of 14 from
wearing a costume or mask. I recalled my last visit to the Magic Kingdom of two
years ago as being surprised by how much the park had changed and even more
surprised at seeing so many adults dressed in costume, many as their favorite
Disney characters. At the entrance, I was a little nervous and half expected to
be told when we bought our tickets that we would have to leave our mermaid
crowns and wigs in the car. It was a long trek back to the car, and too long to
make with an anxious toddler in tow. We bought our tickets and entered the
gates with no problems. The rest of the day we received endless compliments
from guests and park staff, even Tinker Bell was envious of our crowns. We even
managed to get a table at the sold-out Blue Bayou restaurant for a special
mermaid birthday celebration. Politics and its reality were forgotten for one
day at Disneyland.
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| A mermaid birthday celebration at Blue Bayou. |
While I've already received some
great gifts for my birthday, including a trip to Disneyland and a fabulous
antique hat, I am asking that anyone who would like to celebrate my birthday
with a gift, to kindly offer a donation to Reyna Grande's toy fund. Bring the gift of
Christmas to a needy child in Iguala, Mexico. I am grateful to all my friends and family, including Steve, who have donated to Reyna's toy fund. Thank you for being in my life. I appreciate every one of my friends.
