DIS-appointed

Once upon a time, the 1964-65 New York World's Fair, to be exact, a little boy met a big mouse and fell in love. First of all, this is not another untold story about Michael Jackson. Secondly, the little boy was yours truly, the mouse, or, should I say, the Mouse was Mickey and I also got to rub noses with Minnie, and I fell in love so much that my grandmother got a whole lot of shares of The Walt Disney Company which I held on to even after Walt himself passed. I was present at the meeting when Chief Executive Officer Michael D.Eisner was about to complete the merger with Capital Cities/ABC Inc., formerly the American Broadcasting Companies,Inc. The motion carried despite a few objections, but I found myself with too many Disney shares, but I couldn't just foist them upon anybody. Unlike a certain presumptive Republican nominee for President (with whom I mistakenly compared him,) Walt wasn't born into wealth, but what made him feel rich back in those early days was his love of the Bible and everything American, so I felt that Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York was the best fit for those shares. (And good thing too, for Senior Rabbi David Posner and his wife Sylvia knew people who knew people at the Mouse House.) After the terror attacks of 9/11, Disney was seen as a source of comfort from Disney/Pixar's MONSTERS INC. to the Disney Channel Original Movies HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL and CADET KELLY (among others) to live sports on ABC sister network ESPN, but there was a movement against the Eisnerian policies led by Walt's nephew Roy E. Disney which spawned, among other things, a line of T-shirts and bumper stickers which were proudly displayed by former animators and shareholders alike and proclaimed the owner as "DIS-appointed," in a parody of the Disney logo.

I will go on record as saying that I love Disney, ESPN, Marvel and Star Wars and nothing is going to change that, and I have had a lot of great times at Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and Disneyland Resort Paris, as well as the Disney Store at Tanger Outlets Hershey (PA), but I would also like to say that I am extremely DIS-appointed at the management of Disney's Grand Floridian Resort over their lack of action that could have prevented the untimely death of 2-year-old Lane Graves of Elkhorn, NB, who wandered into Seven Seas Lagoon and was attacked not by an Audio-Animatronic alligator, but one that was all too real. I have always admired Disney for the way the care for their guests from offering Big Apples at the front desk at the Hotel New York in Downtown Disney Paris to Mickey's Magical Express at WDW, but this time they fell on their sword with tragic results. They should take to heart Marvel's guiding philosophy: "With great power there must also come great responsibility." I hope Disney pays stronger attention to its guests, remembering that they are not just credit card numbers and that they ARE people. I hope this finds its way to current CEO Bob Iger and that future generations of Disney fans will live happily ever after.

I would be remiss if I did not express my condolences to the survivors of the Pulse night club tragedy which happened not too far away from the Grand Floridian and my support of all the First Responders who stepped up to the plate. #WeAreOrlando

I would also like to express my condolences to the family of Christina Grimmie from THE VOICE who  played a concert in Orlando, just down the road from the Pulse, and was heartlessly and mercilessly gunned down.

Hoping YOUR news is good news (and for better news for all)
Steve