Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/275734
6 MARCH 12-18, 2014 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM I realized the world is shrinking the other day. I was at Barnes & Noble and encountered a lady who was speaking Spanish while her two year old child was crying hysterically in English. I could not understand a word she was saying but I understood exactly what the kid was saying. Crying is the universal language. Which got me to thinking about unhappiness. This encounter took me back to the first time I took my son Will riding on the Small World ride at Disney World. Why would a father take a small child on that ride from Hell? I cringe at the memory. I made many mistakes as a father. This was one of those lapses. I goofed up. Taking Will on the Small World ride was not one of my high points of paternity. But as Randy Newman sang in a touching song about fatherhood, "I just want you to hurt like I do." I had endured the Small World ride many times during our pre-children Disney trips. I remain emotionally scarred by the experience. I knew it was going to be terrible and yet I kept riding the stupid ride. It was a form of the Stockholm Syndrome wherein the hostage begins to identify with the hostage taker. The lyrics "It's a small world after all" had imprinted themselves into my DNA. I had to pass the ride on to my kids. I could not help myself. I am so ashamed. I loved Big Brother. If there was ever a Disney ride that epitomizes all that removes humanity from the ears and souls of the world, it coagulates in a Small World. The singing is hideously repetitive and the puppet children are hyper-glycemically cloying. I would be surprised if the CIA is not using Small World after hours to torment Al Qaeda operatives into ratting out their terrorist buddies. If water boarding doesn't work, six hours of riding through Small World listening to that song would break the strongest religious zealot. Disney was recently in the news due to raising its price for an adult one day admission to the Magic Kingdom to $99. Disney truly believes that kids grow up too fast in our modern social media connected world. Disney maintains a warm and fuzzy feeling about preserving a happy childhood sense of wonder in us all. Accordingly, it made the corporate decision that a child is an adult at age 10. On hitting double digits, your 10-year-old is an adult at Disney World and coughs up $99 to get in. Kids today grow up so fast, even at Disney, the happiest kingdom on Earth. This got me to pondering the whole concept of happiness. Isn't that what life is all about? Buying happiness? If you can't buy happiness for $99 a day at Disney, then what is the point of going on? One of the crankier magazines that I read is something called Ad Busters which is the polar opposite of another favorite magazine, the highly commercial Advertising Age. Ad Busters is not a fan of corporate advertising. A recent issue reported that "The only happy people in America today are in the ads." This statement seems to be a bit overwrought. However, if you routinely watch the nightly news, you may find more than a grain of salt buried there. Fortunately, happiness is where you find it. If you can't afford a $99 ticket to Disney Bliss, there are other options. Instead of dropping into a slough of despond as suggested by Ad Busters, consider the thought behind one of America's great folk songs wherein the singer discovers happiness in the form of a five-pound possum. The singer is having hard times, his children are hungry, his dog needs a bone, he's out of a job and just driving home. "An hour after sundown/ When what to my delight/ There's five pounds of possum in my headlights tonight/ If I can just run him over, everything will be alright/ We'll have some possum gravy, oh what a beautiful sight/ Won't have to clean no chicken/ Won't have to open no cans/ Just a little bit closer and I'll have him in my hands/ I think the time has come now, to go from "dim" to "bright"/ There's five pounds of possum in my headlights tonight." We each are bound to find our own recipe for happiness; whether in dancing puppets in Florida, a mess of marsupial stew, or the concept of dying with the most toys. Once we are happy, we won't care if there are rainbows at night. As Oscar Wilde said, "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." Keep your chin up and watch for possums. PITT DICKEY, Attorney, Contribut- ing Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. It's a Small World, After All by PITT DICKEY Sometimes, happiness is a matter of perspective. Look for us Downtown 4th Friday, Mar. 28, 6-9 p.m. Cakes to order! Meet me at the VILLAGE! Group Space by Reservation. 3037 A Boone Trail Extension 910.484.4515 or 910.849.4454 OPEN MIC NIGHT Friday, March 21st, 7-11 p.m. � � �� �� ��������� ������ ������������� ���� ��������� ��� ���� ��� �! �� ��������� ������ ���������������"���#�� ����������� �������� ������ ����������$� �%%%����$�&������������������� ������� � �$���"����������'�������� ������(����$� "����$�����������)� $�����������$�� ���� �������������������������� $�'�*�$"�� ��� ��������������"�� ����$����������� +������������������������ ��� �� �����$�� �� ����������,�������$$��������������� -��� � ������������� ��� ���������� � ��� ����'�������$���$"����$������������'� �����$������ �����$�����$"���� "�� ���� $��� ��������������� .�������������� �� ����������$� ����$$���� ��"-�$��"���������-� /��-�������� $��������� ��-����� $��"�� �� $���$� $� $�� ������� ,�������$$��������������� $���� ����� $���$"��-��������,���"�� ��0����"��������$ $����� ����� ��$������� ������ ������������� 0� �3-�$��� � ��������� �$"�5 �"����� )8�9����� �" �� ����������� � ���������� )8� ����� ����������$�:� ��� �����-���� �����'������$�� ���$���� ������ �"��� �������� ������ ����$$������ &�� ����$��;�< ��������������� $�0����"����� �$"�,���"��� ���� ���� < -�����=��� � ��� ��������� ������$"���$�� ���� ������$��� ��$�������$"�� ����� ���� . �$�8���$��� $� ����$"���� ����$����>?��/8 �� ���� "��� �-��������� �� � ����� 8���������������������:� @�@>�)�� $��,�����3A��$�� $� %��?�B�?�2�2� ��%��?B�%?��2�� ���������� � ��� ��� ����� �� ������ �������� �� ������������� ���-�� ���-�$�$�� ��1�2� ���� � ������4��� 6+7�� "��������-�� � ����� ����9?��� �� ��� ���� �� �'��$"� ��������� ��� ����� ��� ; <���$����� ����� $�� �?�/8�� ��9?B/8� ��� ���� $� �� �������� ��� ���� ��� �� �������� ��� ����� ��� 8�0�� ���� ����������

