Time Machine Travelogue Sixteen

A Sentimental Journey

The gift of fire leads to time travel.

The time machine has not been taken out from its hiding place for sometime now.  There is no real reason.  The time machine has preformed quite well for all the previous trips.  Many of these trips were related to a trip that was an eighth grade field trip.  It is hard to call it a trip of a lifetime because the twins will have lots of lifetime left and there will be plenty of future trips.  However sadly, we will not be so involved in those trips.  The trip started in Washington D.C. and then moved on to New York City.  We had only a short time in New York City but it was action packed.  Time's Square and a night at the theater to see Wicked was covered in Time Travelogue Fifteen.  After a late night, we had an early date with history.  Both our nation's history but our family's history.


As the family story goes, my grandfather wanted his mother to fry left over spaghetti for his breakfast.  She was a bit of a purest and refused to fry that spaghetti for him.  At the time, according to the story, my grandfather lived at home with his family in Naples, Italy.  He was the youngest son in the family.  He was also the seventh son.  He was a bit spoiled by his own admission.  However, his mother could not bring herself ruining spaghetti by frying it.  Some may say why didn't he just do it himself.  In those days of the early 1900's neither man nor boy was allowed in the kitchen.   My grandfather was twelve years old.  So as any red blooded Italian boy living in a seaport city like Naples would do,  he packed a few meager items and arranged passage on a ship bound for America.  For his passage he worked on the ship as a tailor.  This was his trade that he was apprenticing for.  When we went on that eighth grade field trip, we took a ferry to Ellis Island.  Being on that boat, I could only imagine that those sights were what my grandfather saw when he arrived in America.  Sure the New York City skyline has changed but other things would be the same.  Sailing into New York harbor there is one thing that every visitor and immigrant is greeted with, the Statue of Liberty. Being on the ferry boat crossing the water the Statue of Liberty is awe inspiring.  Lady Liberty is symbol that drew people from around the World.  Just looking at the statue evokes a range of emotions.  I felt pride in my country and in my grandfather.  Here on the ocean, he looked at this same beautiful sight.  A tear greeted my eye.  The gray water of that harbor was no longer cold.  It a warm bond of family feelings passing between my grandfather to my children.  I'm sure the Statue of Liberty has that in common for many American families.  We were unable to visit the Statue of Liberty that day there wasn't time.  But sailing by it had even a stronger emotional affect.  

What were our grandparents thoughts see her for the first time.

"She lifts her lamp before the Golden Door."

Even from the ferry she is awesome.

My grandfather's eye shared this sight.

I imagine a young boy far from home looking at this sight.  He always said that he never left anything there so he never wanted to go back to Italy.  He had a trade and there were many shops in need of a tailor.  Customarily, immigrants landing at the port of New York were ferried back out to Ellis Island to start the immigration process.  As we pulled closer to Ellis Island and I saw the silhouette of the buildings, I knew that this is the sight he saw so many years before.

What happened here every immigrant worried if they were going stay.

Towering freedom's hopes.

This was America's Melting Pot.

My grandfather's face could be staring back here.

Those many years ago my grandfather and others trod on these very same floors.  He could have been like any of these men in this picture.  When the United States entered the War to End All Wars, what we now call World War I, he signed up for the duration.  In those days, immigrants who were signed up for the duration were offered citizenship.  As the story goes, he was asked his trade by the Army.  He said that he was a tailor.  The supposedly said, "You are good with scissors.  You'll be a barber."  They trained him to do that.  Which was funny because in later life he was nearly bald.  

Like our country a flag woven immigrants.

At Ellis Island, they have the registrars that people were signed into.  We didn't have time to research, and it was crowded.  They did have this flag project that I thought was interesting.  So many American share this history with our family.  I wish I had found out about others in my family and their arrival to our shores.  If there are first person witnesses to your history,  check it out it may be interesting.  The time machine is ready for return to our time.  Thanks for the time spent together.  

This Week in Libertyland 8/6/12

A Strange Creature in Our Home

I'm a ferocious bear.

Most people think cats are possessed.  Now that Liberty is getting to a normal age when you would get a kitten, we are finding we have a bundle of dynamite.  Since, we first got this poor abandoned kitten on the 4th of July as blogged about on July 7th's post.  Liberty has had a place not only in our family's life but in my blog.  She is at that stage where she will attack everything that moves.  Fingers, hands and feet are often favorites of hers. These attacks prevented me from playing Tetris on Tetris Friends.  Check out the "Liberty, Not Again."  When she was that small kitten it wasn't too bad but she is getting lethal now.  We now try everything to divert her attention to different objects.  Objects like the cellophane kitty lure in which Liberty showed her stuff in "Libertyland." 

Our children taught us to passionately dislike a couple of things as they were growing up.  Okay let's call it extreme irritation.  One was McDonald's Happy Meals.  Mostly because of the toys.  They had to have those toys.  Toys were strewn about our cars and house.  Most of them were scooped up years ago and sent to storage making way for newer toys.  A second thing that many parents hated were Beanie Babies.  These under stuffed dolls were all the rage at one time.  Small replicas were even given out as McDonald's Happy Meal toys.  When my daughter graduated from high school a friend gave her an old McDonald Beanie Baby bear.  This has become Liberty's newest victim.  

Flashing in before it gets away.

Don't move you're mine.

A three second pin.

The poor little bear is over matched.  But he never complains and every time he is attacked we aren't.  Just watching Liberty is entertaining.  She bats, pounces, and chews that bear.  

Don't try to escape silly bear!

Why are you still smiling?

T-Rex eat your heart out.

555yhhh, that was typed by the kitten who dived at my fingers while I was typing.  She can manage to play with the bear for an hour at a time before losing interest in it.

Now you will be a pillow

Liberty, found on the 4th of July, is a firecracker.  She is active and cute doing it.  Then once she is done and played out she finds a place to relax and take a cat nap.

Who is she attacking in her dreams?

Thank you wondering how Liberty has been doing.  I will try to get a few more pictures which I can keep satisfying your Liberty interest.  

Lookout Disney We Have Boxed Pin Sets Four

An Ancient Ritual, Disney Catalog Sales


There use to be a time back in the day when you would go out to the mailbox and check if the postal carrier brought the newest Disney Catalog.  My mother, the sponsor,  ordered so much from the catalog  that she had a personal shopper.  The shopper would call her and take her order or suggest items that she knew my mom would be interested in.  Mom ordered so much that she was designated a Best Guest. It may sound frivolous but it saved time and mailing off a catalog form.  It also gave my mom access to special items that were not published in that month's catalog.  The biggest perk of all was the items that were given to you because you were a Best Guest. 

Mom enjoyed the title Best Guest.

 Even cast members at the resort hotels and the parks recognized the Best Guest logo. Because of the twins and my mom being their Nonna, many of the orders included clothes and toys for the kids.  Also, the Disney character cookie jars that I blogged about on May14 and May 31 came from Disney Catalog.  


Disney Catalog offered boxed pin sets.  As a family we had become huge pin collectors.  The idea of boxed pin sets were a logical extension.  We started with the early Disney and I. B. Werks production of early Mickey Mouse films that launched our little mouse heroes film career.  Steamboat Willie made in 1928 was the same year my mother was born.  That was the reason she loved that mouse so much. The March 26th blog displayed those early pin sets.  Disney followed that release with the of Silly Symphony cartoons.  These were shown at theaters in color.  That caused a sensation.  Most films were in black and white.  The April 3rd blog was about these film releases.  All these Disney Catalog exclusives were produced as limited editions. Most of them were released as part of a 3000 limit.  Others were released in some significant number.  On May 2nd, I blogged about some the boxed pin sets that were related to sports. 
The Disney Catalog released a pin set that represented pin trading. Pin trading was taking off at the various Disney parks.  Guest had lanyards and could trade pins with any Disney cast member.   If you had a full lanyard it was substantially heavy around your neck especially a child's neck.  As the number of pins increased the people began to adopt other options, such as pin vests or pin cases.  These pin vest were generally khaki or black.  Some people had pins on the front and others covered the vest front and back.  It must have been incredibly uncomfortable and heavy.  Some traders opted for the pin cases.  Disneyland set up sites where pin traders could congregate to unzip their cases and display the pins they wished to trade.  The Disney Catalog boxed pin set depicts these differing activities.  Mickey Mouse and the whole gang are shown in trading pins.

Pin trading took the parks by storm.

Kiosks and pin cases

You've seen this before.

As time went on many of the collectors edition boxed pin sets were more specific.  Take the pin set Donald Duck: My Family Album.  Donald Duck has a large family and a significant other.  We all know Daisy Duck, that glamorous and sassy Peking Duck has been Donald's girl friend since she was created in 1940.  Of course, everyone knows Donald's nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie.  They in a cartoon episode decided to raise a sunken boat with ping pong balls.  It worked for them but many real life people were skeptical.  Then the television show Myth Buster decided to either confirm or bust this myth.  They devised a delivery system for the ping pong balls and the method was confirmed.  They even had to use less balls than they calculated.  The nephews were in many of Donald's adventures.  One of my favorite ducks was the smartest of the Duck family.  He had many shows on Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color that informed us on topics ranging from Child Psychology to introducing Tall Tales.  Professor Ludwig von Duck was Donald's uncle.  Another uncle everyone wishes they had was rich Scrooge McDuck.  A poor thrifty Scottish duck that hit it rich in the Klondike finding a a goose egg sized gold nugget.  This launched his fortune that has been rising steadily ever since.  In 2011 Forbes Fictional Fifteen revealed that Uncle Scrooge hit number one being worth 44.1 billion dollars.  

Star of cartoons, comics, and movies

Only a small number of the Duck family

Huebert Duck, Deuteronomy Duck, and Louis Duck  are better known as Huey, Dewey, and Louie.  These nephews appeared in some of the earliest Disney films meant for theaters to the Disney's Afternoon Avenue show Duck Tales.  Poor Donald was often the receiver of misfortune.  In Good Scouts Donald is taking his nephews on a camping trip.  Where he is befuddled by a petrified tree, chased by a grumpy bear and foiled by "Old Reliable" geyser.  When Donald is injured, the boys spring into action using their scouting skills and the result is Donald looks like a mummy.

This was volume # 5 Of the Disney Animated Shorts series

The nephews are in their uniforms.

Why would you have a limited edition of 1932?  "Gawrsh" the answer is your celebrating the 70th anniversary of everybody's favorite anthropomorphic dog, Goofy.  Goofy's first role was in 1932 Mickey's Revue.  Goofy played Dippy Dawg and a star was born.  Goofy made many "How To" and "The Art of" cartoon shows.  However, we all know these turned out to be "how not to".  Take the 1941 Art of Skiing.  Goofy's misadventures caused him to go over a cliff gave rise to what is now known as the "Goofy Holler". This sound effect written in scripts as "yaaaaaaa-hoo-hoo-hoo-hooey!!" This sound effect is used in many movie and not just by Goofy.  Goofy can be heard in the video game Kingdom Hearts using this yodel as he comes charging with his shield, the only weapon he uses.

The old dog looks good for 80 now.

My brother has Goofy golf stuff thanks to the sponsor

In 1936 the animated short called Mickey's Circus.  You would think it was all about our favorite mouse, Mickey.  Mickey, however, starts and ends the feature.  The main part belonged to the most easily frustrated, Donald Duck.  Donald has a trained seal act.  The adult seals are supposed balance a ball and play the horns.  It is the little seal pup that steals the show.  First by stealing the fish intended to reward the seals.  Next, by playing the horns better and a one-man-band drum and symbol.  Salty the Seal later tormented Pluto in a future film.  This boxed set was a limited to 1500.

Come to Mickey's Circus! Orphans get in free.

How come there is no Salty the Seal?

Going through these boxed pin sets gives me a good feeling, I get to remember my mom.  She loved shopping and Disney.  The Disney Catalog gave her an excellent opportunity for both.  She also love the fact that she had a personal shopper.  She was a salesperson and buyer in retail sales her entire life.  She prided herself on the attention and service she gave her customers.  And they were her customers.  The majority of them would rather leave the store than have anyone else wait on them.  Department stores don't give service like that anymore.  Has anyone at Walmart ever asked you, "That is a beautiful shirt! Let me show you a sweater and a tie that would look great with that."  The idea of just one someone to take care of her seemed perfect.  Being designated as a Best Guest made her feel special.  Next time we'll explore more of these Disney Catalog exclusives.