Hey Team,
When I was in Orlando the other day I got to go through the Magic Kingdom for the first time since I worked there almost five years ago. I had a good time, but something was just a little off the entire time I was there.
I wouldn’t necessarily call my time at Disney World life changing but it was a pretty important era in the life of Brett and I made some really good friends while I was in Florida (A few of them have even made appearances on the podcast). And as I walked around the park something seemed to be missing. The “weird” was driven home when I visited Big Thunder Mountain, the ride I worked on while doing my college internship there.
Everything still looked the same…but all of the faces were wrong. It’s not even like I expected everyone to still be there but I still felt kind of uncomfortable. Uncomfortable enough to attempt to express the feeling in a text to Shawn, a good friend of mine that I worked with on the mountain (you guys know him from the firefly podcast). He summed it up better than I could so here’s a direct quote:
“There’s nothing worse than going back to a familiar place and seeing strange faces. When we left we took the magic of Thunder with us.”
So, once again, what it really comes down to is people. That mountain feels like it was such an important aspect of my life but really it’s more like a mental container that holds all the memories of the people I connected with and moments I shared with them.
It’s reassuring to think that, sad as it may be that you can never go back to those times, at least those mental containers exist and the people you experience those times in your life with will always be there, not just in the past but in the present.
Maybe it’s a function of being a nomad right now but it makes me happy to think that the people you meet can make such a lasting impact even over the amazing sights there are to see.
So, thanks for all the new friendships I’ve made along the way while amtrekking and I hope I make half the impact on you that you’ve all made on me. And thanks for all the longtime friendships that have helped me get to this point.
I have a feeling this trip is going to end up becoming the world’s largest mental container.
I’m done.
Brett.
P.S. Yeah, that’s a REALLY obscure title, but I’m sure someone will find the connection.
–
Welcome to the wonderful world of kindness to strangers!
Why NOT be a kind stranger?
