Good day, Jungle fans and Disneyland patrons.
We hail our blog followers today, be they from San Rafael, California, Las Vegas, Nevada, Salt Lake City, Utah or Mililani, Hawaii. Indeed, greetings are sent to visitors from as far away as Brisbane in Queensland, Australia, Colombo in Sri Lanka and the primeval forests of Florham Park, New Jersey.
How you all managed to find your way here, I'll never know. Of all the blog joints in all the towns in all the world, you walked into mine. Most stumble here, I suppose, from wayward Google and Yahoo searches.
An orthopaedic surgeon looking for a deal on "casts" gets directed here because of our frequent reference to "cast members" at Disneyland.
Many happen upon one of our many photographs of the Park and its Cast Members through a search of Google Images.
Others are looking for serious jungle tours and eco-adventures and get this site in a search result.
Oops. (But, we DO have piranhas. Strangest thing.)
However it was that you arrived in this corner of cyberspace, this much I can say to you without reservation:
Um, hi.
Come on in.
Can I get you anything?
A drink? A snack?
Make yourself at home.
It's good to see you.
How is your family?
My how you've grown!
Have a seat anywhere.
Sorry the place is a mess, but you would not believe the week we've had around here.
How long are you in town?
When is the last time you made it to Disneyland?
Seriously, we love our readers---especially our four (4) loyal readers (Hi, mom!).
You know who you are.
You are people with discernment.
Unrefined discernment, but discernment nevertheless.
You have an odd interest in the perspective of Disneyland cast members.
You have plenty of time on your hands.
You enjoy long walks on the beach at night.
During a rainstorm.
Wearing flippers and a snorkel.
Perhaps little else.
You rummage.
Through the Internet.
Through garage sales.
Through pawn shops, thrift stores and trash bins.
Perhaps you live with several cats, say 30.
You mumble to yourself repeatedly on street corners.
Aluminum foil wadded into spheroids fascinates you.
Your mind wanders.
Often for days at a time.
Some days, you never get out of your bathrobe,
yet you still make it to the grocery store.
You don't remember where you put your keys or if you took your medication.
Many of you, for some strange reason, are engineers, and therefore you do not dress well and have difficulty communicating with others.
Some collect things.
Like dried glue.
Or Ivory Soap wrappers.
Or flavored stationery (we're not sure about you guys).
One or two of you have been known to frequent 7-11 stores (but only at 6:00 a.m and Midnight---just so you can prove them wrong).
You work for great and storied institutions like Amgen, Southern Methodist University or Del Taco.
You are vaguely aware that someone is watching you.
For several of you, personal hygiene is important, but not a priority.
Some favor the great thinkers: Herman (as in "Pee Wee"), Spears (as in "Britney") and Cyrus (take your pick: Billy Ray or Miley).
You are bold.
Different.
Special.
Unsung.
Unrehearsed.
Unheralded.
Uncertain.
Bewildered.
Bemused.
Befuddled.
Bedraggled.
Aware.
Alert.
And oriented x3.
Your pupils are equal, round and reactive to light and accommodation (these last three are for you EMT and Emergency Room types) .
You reach for the stars.
You soon realize that they are enormous masses of incandescent gases, gigantic nuclear furnaces where hydrogen is made into helium at temperatures of millions of degrees and are light years away, so what the heck are you really reaching for here, hmmm?
You find yourself reading lengthy descriptions of you by random people on the Internet who do not even know you.
You are the future.
You are why we at "Jungle is 101" are paid so handsomely for these posts.
Thank you.
If you are on the Jungle side of the boat, stand up, turn around and you will be helped out by the rear.
Of the boat that is.
Ladies don't get agitated.
Those of you on the dock side, you'll be heading out the front doorway.
But don't go through our windows.
You'll get a window pain.
Trust me, it can be a shattering experience.
Heck, it could be curtains for you.
I "shutter" to think about it.
Bye now!
---Mike
