Blog Post

27
Jan

The Happiest Place on Earth

The Happiest Place on Earth

Dedicated to my Disney rebbe, Marc Levine
And to Dr. Abe Chames zt”l

 

This week we once again made the pilgrimage to Disney World. It was “Yeshiva week”, the make-up vacation for kids in Yeshiva who do not get the normal Christmas break that everyone else gets. And since there are not enough Jewish holidays in the calendar, they need to get this week off as well. It actually works out since vacation and travel expenses are a lot cheaper at the end of January versus the crazy travel weeks at the end of December. Also, Disney World traditionally offers a Florida residents special that cuts the price basically in half for a 3-day pass. The savings do not quite make up for the tuition, but it is a nice perk.

 

What can you say, how can you not love Disney World? There is absolutely no judgment going on there and you can act and dress as you wish. How else can you explain adults wearing funny looking ears, dorky t-shirts and walking about ripping the meat from huge turkey legs with their teeth, and not be self-conscious? If they would appear this way on the outside, like in a mall, they would be arrested. This is probably why they say that Disney is “The Happiest Place on Earth”.

 

I teach a class that I have referred to in the past called The Spiritual Bucket List – spiritual things that a person ought to do in their lifetime. Some of them are one-off and others are ongoing things that one should strive to incorporate into their lives. One of the ongoing ones is making people feel good, gratuitously. Jewish tradition teaches that the second Temple was destroyed because of שנאת חינם gratuitous hatred that people had for one another. Too often pettiness envelopes our lives and we look disdainfully at others over minor things.

 

To remedy this flaw I recommend going out of your way to proactively make others feel good, and rather than focus on the thing you might not like in another, try to focus on what you like and let them know it. This can be a relatively easy thing to do as one can often pick up on what others might be into and never tire talking about. The easiest way to do this is to ask parents about their kids, or even better, grandkids. Or, for instance, not long ago a fellow from College Hunk Movers showed up at Aish to move a heavy piece from our center. He was clearly not a college student, nor much of a hunk either. But after joking with him and his partner about that I did notice the long pony tail he wore despite being mostly bald. I immediately asked him how long it has been since he cut that and without missing a beat he told me 17 years. When you see a fellow with an 18” pony tail, you know it is his thing and he loves it. So bring it up in conversation – all it will do is make him feel good.

 

So at the Lego store in Disney Springs (formerly Downtown Disney), while the kids were looking around and playing with the Lego blocks, I took note of a chubbyish cashier fellow behind the counter. Everyone at Disney has name tags with their city of origin on it so I went up to Charles from Orlando and asked him if I could get a photo with him. He was somewhat taken aback at the request, but that was what I figured. You see at Disney everyone wants a picture with Mickey or Goofy or Aladdin or Elsa. Or maybe one with the Green Army guy, the Star Wars character, the gold statue-like person who is able to freeze his movements or Snow White or one of the myriad of amazingly in-shape dancers that dot the park. But how often do people go up to the cashier at the Lego store and ask for his photo? Never, he told me. I was the first. “You made my day – thanks, no one has ever asked me that.”

 

After the pic, Karen joined me and we asked him what it was like being born and bred in Orlando, under the umbrella of Disney and about his job and life. He likes it, it’s a good company that treats you well, good benefits and a fantastic working environment where the people are always nice. His parents actually met in Disney many years ago – his mom worked on the Monorail and his dad was “a custodian – which is a nice word for a janitor” – his words not mine. We shmuzzed a bit about politics; I assumed because we were in middle America he had voted for Trump. Nope, he did not, he liked Bernie Sanders actually.

 

And then when it came time to check out and pay for the Lego-themed mug we found with our granddaughter’s name, Maya on it, Charles quickly picked up a dice-like thing next to him, scanned it and gave us a 20% discount on the mug.

 

I wasn’t looking for any discounts from Charles, but this is how it often turns out in life. Be nice to people, take them seriously, treat everyone with dignity and respect, learn about their life and make them feel special… and before you know it, it comes full circle and they give it right back to you. And that is how you can truly create The Happiest Place on Earth.

 

There’s a time for everyone if they only learn

That the twisting kaleidoscope moves us all in turn…

And can you feel the love tonight?

How it’s laid to rest

It’s enough to make kings and vagabonds

Believe the very best

-Elton John, The Lion King

 

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