Blue House

 

In the 1980s, Bear Country was a dead-end in Disneyland, just past the Haunted Mansion. Its only attraction was the Country Bear Jamboree. Consequently, Bear Country was often vacant. Imagineers decided to add a log flume ride to attract guests, and they chose Song of the South, one of Disney’s most acclaimed films, as its theme. (Song of the South had been nominated for a best musical scoring Oscar. “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” had won for best original song, and James Baskett had won an honorary award for his portrayal of Uncle Remus.) Bear Country was renamed Critter Country in anticipation of the new ride. Splash Mountain was one of Disneyland’s most popular attractions from 1989 to 2023, with notoriously long wait times. A month from now, it will reopen as Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. If you still want to get wet while listening to “How Do You Do?” “Everybody’s Got a Laughing Place” and “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah,” you’ll have to visit Disneyland Tokyo.

Ravenchase

 

When they designed Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Disney imagineers wanted to add a restaurant. The ride was meant to look like a posh 1930’s Hollywood Towers Hotel. What could be more natural than an in-house hotel eatery? In the end, though, the idea was nixed. There were concerns the smell of food being cooked and served might mask odors accompanying a possible ride malfunction. Instead, a menu for a gala (imaginary) feast was placed between the ride exit and the gift shop. The menu no longer exists in Disney California Adventures, because this ride is now Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission Breakout. It might still be in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but I’d have to cross a few time zones to find out. There ARE Disney rides with restaurants: Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean has The Blue Bayou, and in Florida Living with the Land has The Garden Grill and It’s a Small World has Pinocchio Village Haus.

Four Barrel Cacti

 

It’s a Small World was part of UNICEF pavilion in the New York World’s Fair in 1964. It was reinstalled as an E-ticket ride in Disneyland’s Fantasyland in 1966. May 28 of that year, Disneyland celebrated the re-opening of It’s a Small World with costumed dancers from all over the world. Children from several different countries poured water from their homelands into the “Seven Seas Canal.” Ed Morgan and Carl Baker had been working round the clock for days to get the ride operational in time. Once the ride was running, they took a short break. They came back to a scene of utter chaos. The water had drained, and VIPs were stranded in little boats throughout the ride. It seems a cast member had tried to jump the canal and landed on the main stilling well, crushing it. It took Ed and Carl 45 minutes to stabilize the system and the “happiest cruise that ever sailed” was back on track.

Thirty Butterflies

 

“One characteristic of Jesus’s divine charity was His obedience to every word that proceeded from God’s mouth, always aligning His will and behavior with that of His Heavenly Father. When He arrived on the Western Hemisphere following His Resurrection, Christ said to the Nephites: ‘Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father from the beginning.’ Of the myriad ways He could have introduced Himself, Jesus did so by declaring His obedience to the will of the Father—never mind that not long before in His hour of greatest need, this Only Begotten Son of God had felt totally abandoned by His Father. Christ’s charity—evident in complete loyalty to divine will—persisted and continues to persist, not just through the easy and comfortable days but especially through the darkest and most difficult ones.” – Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Four Gold Sawtooth Stars

 

Between 1908 to 1942, Sears sold more than 70,000 homes in North America. Not finished houses; they were built-it-yourself deals. Think Ikea dressers on steroids. You’d flip through their catalog and choose a floorplan from more than 370 designs in a wide range of sizes and architectural styles. You’d place your order, and everything you needed to build the home would arrive by railroad car. You could then hire professionals to complete the project, but more often than not all your family, friends and neighbors would just show up and pitch in. They were called Sears Modern Homes, because most of them included the very latest in comfort and convenience: central heating, indoor plumbing, even telephones and electricity. Sears offered financing; usually 5- or 15-year mortgages at around 7 percent. So many people defaulted on these loans during the Great Depression, the company had to liquidate $11 million in bad debt. Sears stopped offering mortgages in 1933.

Last Border

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. It’s marked by an elaborate and ancient ritual, including a 25-hour fast and intense prayer. Yom Kippur always occurs ten days after Rosh Hashanah, Jewish New Year. So, Yom Kippur happens on a different day every year. In 2028, it will fall on Thursday, October 19. The following year, it will be Tuesday, September 18. This year’s Yom Kippur starts today at sunset and ends with tomorrow’s sunset. Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah are the only Jewish holidays that don’t commemorate historical events. Much of the day is spent in meditation, as well as reading from the Torah and reciting penitential prayers. During Yom Kippur, the faithful set aside their daily work, so they may focus on asking for forgiveness from God and from one another, and also so they may forgive their neighbors and seek reconciliation. 

 

Green House

 

Rhinos are among Earth’s largest land mammals. A male white rhino can weigh 5,000 pounds. Rhinos have thick, heavy bodies and relatively short legs, but they can run 30 MPH; faster than the fastest humans. Rhinoceros comes from the Greek word rhinokerōs, meaning “nose horn.” The “horn” is actually made of keratin, not bone. So, it’s like each rhino has a huge, pointy fingernail growing on its snout. This week I learned about two UK zoos, Woburn Safari Park and West Midlands Safari Park, who traded rhinos. Granville, a captive-born male, went to Bedfordshire, while Bonnie, a 2-ton female headed to West Midlands. Bonnie has a sister in West Midlands, though the two had never met before the trade. The swap was to provide Woburn Safari Park with a healthy young male to help preserve the genetic diversity of the species. Which brings me to another fun rhino fact: the collective noun for rhino is “crash.”