his concerned eyes.
“Yea, I am not big into crowds.” This was the understatement of the century.
“It is okay. I am here. I will take care of you.” Daniel’s words were sincere, not mocking. He neither questioned nor dismissed her fears. “I have a way of being in Disneyland that makes the crowds disappear. You wait and see. The first thing you have to do is look up.”
Hannah thought this was a funny statement. She was, in fact, quite short. This was, in part perhaps, the cause of her claustrophobia in crowds. She often found herself staring into the midst of a group of people, unable to see anything at all.
“There are so many things to see here, but if you focus on the crowd you will never see any of it. I will keep you from bumping into anything; I just want you to look around you.”
As directed, Hannah did just that and found herself looking straight down a street lined with subtly colored old fashioned buildings. Everywhere she looked there was some detail to see. A horse drawn wagon passed behind her, driven by a man in a red and white striped shirt. There were streetlamps on every corner. She was beginning to see words painted on the windows of the different buildings; Disneyland Bank, Town Hall. She picked out the Disneyland Fire Station. Hannah also noticed how green and groomed everything was. The grass was perfect, though she was sure people must trample on it all day long. No, she saw that generally the grass was protected by small ropes. There were trees and flowers and plants dotted everywhere, so that it felt truly like a park.
Hannah heard a noise and turned around to look behind her, up the sweeping stairs to the train station. She had heard an old fashioned coal (or was it steam?) train pull into the station, and now saw a bustle of people filing off. Then heard an indistinguishable “All ‘board!” and the train began to puff, once again, out of the station and down the tracks. She watched it until it curved away and out of sight.
“Where does that go?” S he turned to Daniel, who was watching with her.
“It goes the whole way around the park. We will ride on it later. I love coming here with someone new. I pay attention to things I may have forgotten to pay attention to.”
If Hannah had cared, she may have been jealous to think of who else he might have brought here, but at the moment, Hannah had not a thought in the world. She just let her senses be inundated by sights and sounds and smells. She allowed Daniel, as he had promised, guide her down Main Street, expertly weaving through the crowd. She peered into shops as they sauntered by, a magic shop, a candy shop, a movie house. A store filled with art and one filled with clothes. Hannah had never been one to go into gift stores, though Breckenridge was replete with them. But she felt an urge to go into every one of these shops, to suck up the knowledge they might provide her about this new land she was experiencing. They then came out of the alley of stores to where the street split into different directions. In front of her was a castle, but it wasn’t this that held her attention. What she saw at the end of the street was a scene play out in front of her, one that seated her feeling of well-being in this place.
An adorable young girl, she couldn’t have been more than three years old, middle eastern in decent by the looks of her, began to whimper at first and then to cry in earnest. Hannah looked around but saw no one close by who seemed to be this child’s family. By the time Hannah looked back to the girl she saw that three different adults, a well-dressed woman with perfectly groomed blonde hair, a large man with a child tagging along at his side, and a late teen aged boy, had all descended upon this little girl, offering her comfort and organizing efforts to locate the child’s family. Within moments a tiny woman, scarf covering her head, came running up to the little girl, smothering her with anxious kisses and
“Yea, I am not big into crowds.” This was the understatement of the century.
“It is okay. I am here. I will take care of you.” Daniel’s words were sincere, not mocking. He neither questioned nor dismissed her fears. “I have a way of being in Disneyland that makes the crowds disappear. You wait and see. The first thing you have to do is look up.”
Hannah thought this was a funny statement. She was, in fact, quite short. This was, in part perhaps, the cause of her claustrophobia in crowds. She often found herself staring into the midst of a group of people, unable to see anything at all.
“There are so many things to see here, but if you focus on the crowd you will never see any of it. I will keep you from bumping into anything; I just want you to look around you.”
As directed, Hannah did just that and found herself looking straight down a street lined with subtly colored old fashioned buildings. Everywhere she looked there was some detail to see. A horse drawn wagon passed behind her, driven by a man in a red and white striped shirt. There were streetlamps on every corner. She was beginning to see words painted on the windows of the different buildings; Disneyland Bank, Town Hall. She picked out the Disneyland Fire Station. Hannah also noticed how green and groomed everything was. The grass was perfect, though she was sure people must trample on it all day long. No, she saw that generally the grass was protected by small ropes. There were trees and flowers and plants dotted everywhere, so that it felt truly like a park.
Hannah heard a noise and turned around to look behind her, up the sweeping stairs to the train station. She had heard an old fashioned coal (or was it steam?) train pull into the station, and now saw a bustle of people filing off. Then heard an indistinguishable “All ‘board!” and the train began to puff, once again, out of the station and down the tracks. She watched it until it curved away and out of sight.
“Where does that go?” S he turned to Daniel, who was watching with her.
“It goes the whole way around the park. We will ride on it later. I love coming here with someone new. I pay attention to things I may have forgotten to pay attention to.”
If Hannah had cared, she may have been jealous to think of who else he might have brought here, but at the moment, Hannah had not a thought in the world. She just let her senses be inundated by sights and sounds and smells. She allowed Daniel, as he had promised, guide her down Main Street, expertly weaving through the crowd. She peered into shops as they sauntered by, a magic shop, a candy shop, a movie house. A store filled with art and one filled with clothes. Hannah had never been one to go into gift stores, though Breckenridge was replete with them. But she felt an urge to go into every one of these shops, to suck up the knowledge they might provide her about this new land she was experiencing. They then came out of the alley of stores to where the street split into different directions. In front of her was a castle, but it wasn’t this that held her attention. What she saw at the end of the street was a scene play out in front of her, one that seated her feeling of well-being in this place.
An adorable young girl, she couldn’t have been more than three years old, middle eastern in decent by the looks of her, began to whimper at first and then to cry in earnest. Hannah looked around but saw no one close by who seemed to be this child’s family. By the time Hannah looked back to the girl she saw that three different adults, a well-dressed woman with perfectly groomed blonde hair, a large man with a child tagging along at his side, and a late teen aged boy, had all descended upon this little girl, offering her comfort and organizing efforts to locate the child’s family. Within moments a tiny woman, scarf covering her head, came running up to the little girl, smothering her with anxious kisses and
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