Lost at Disneyland...

My brother Chris got lost at Disneyland once.

This is a horrible nightmare for any parent and it's only funny now because (spoiler alert) ...we would later find him. Alive. With a giant balloon attached to his pants. (I'll explain later)

It happened on a trip we took to Disneyland with my mom Phylis. It was the summer of 1975 and my brothers Joe, Chris and I and step-sister Michelle were getting off the teacup ride. Chris, the youngest of us boys, ducked down into the crowd and was suddenly gone. Disappeared. I turned to Joe, who was still reeling from the ride, and said "Where'd Chris go?"

"I dunno. Did mom say when we were getting lunch?"

We found mom with but no Chris. We started looking everywhere. We scoured the perimeter of the teacup ride, stormed the Magic Castle, and finally ended up at the Lost and Found. By now, three hours had passed and mom, seven months pregnant with my brother Frankie, was beyond upset. By this point she began speculating out loud the fate of our lost little brother. The weird (and funny) thing was, she was so specific. And maybe a wee bit dramatic. We sat down on a bench as she went on...

"Another family probably picked him up and he's gone. GONE. We'll never see him again. They're probably driving off right now. They'll adopt him and that'll be it."

I looked at mom sitting there, pregnant and miserable, and tried imagining Chris with this new family. There is no way they'd keep him. The kid only eats cold cereal and PB&Js. Once they discover he blows his nose into his own blanket, they'll drop his butt off right back here in front of Disneyland.

But mom was on a roll...

"He's with his new family now, I just know it.. I'll bet they're leaving the park to get something to eat. Then they'll stop and at Sears and buy him new clothes. If we ever find your brother, he will have long forgotten about us. You boys better get used to it."

Suddenly a costumed Goofy was standing in front of us. I remember being bewildered by this sudden intrusion of Disney fantasy with our very real reality. He gave us a great big wave and threw his arms open wide. I looked around nervously and gave him an awkward smile before he was mercifully accosted by park goers wanting to take pictures with him.

Luckily, we were at the park with a lady that I only remember now as Jeannie. She and her husband lived in Pacific Palisades and we stayed with them for our vacation to California. Jeannie suggested maybe we should check the parking lot. Mom was still embellishing Chris' fate with this fictional new family when Jeannie quietly disappeared into the crowd, leaving us in front of the Lost and Found.

We sat there in the hot summer sun on that hard park bench for what seemed like an eternity. The man at the Lost and Found looked at us with concern from behind the counter. Costumed characters were now avoiding us. Parents and children stared.

I was nursing a huge lemonade when I noticed an over sized Mickey Mouse balloon attached to a string sailing high over the crowd of people. As it got closer, I saw Jeannie emerge through the masses. The string of the balloon was behind her and attached to...Chris! She was almost dragging him by the hand through the crowd. The balloon's string was yanking his pants upward. Were he any lighter, he'd be whisked away.

Immediately a wave of relief washed over us. We stood up and rushed over to them. Mom thanked Jeannie profusely and went to hug Chris, briefly tangling herself in the balloon string. Jeannie explained that she found Chris waiting by the car in Disneyland's vast parking lot. She said that happens a lot. Lost kids know that their family will eventually return to the car and just wait for them there. She said she bought the balloon and tied it to him explaining that if he got lost again, we'd be able to see him from a distance.

We were re-energized by the return of my prodigal little brother. After all was said and done, we returned to the rides and spent the rest of the day enjoying the park.

...all the while with that over sized Mickey Mouse balloon loomed over us.



(DC is a morning disc jockey at B97-B93 and is in no way a professional writer. But he admires those who are)