My Mecca

Mecca is a city in Saudia Arabia in which the Muslim prophet Mohammed was born. As part of the Muslim faith, every true believer makes a pilgrimage to Mecca. The Christians and the Hebrews have Soloman's wall in Jerusalem.

My pilgrimage was just before my 37th birthday. It was the first time I saw the real Mickey Mouse. Disney World is a magical experience that brought everything from my dreams to life.

My whole life I had friends who told me about the shows, the sights and the sounds. I grew up with the Magical World of Disney every Sunday night on CBC. The TV shows, the movies, the characters, and the cartoons made this place my mecca for 30 plus years.

We were told that the kids would enjoy themselves once they reached 3 and 4. We booked 10 days, stayed at one of the Disney resorts and shuttled back and forth to the four different parks.

The first day we spent at Magic Kingdom. Rightfully named, the first thing you notice is Cinderella's castle right slap dab in the middle of the park. 

I was excited. I had to see everything. My kids were so young. They were lucky. They were witnessing things that I had waited half my life to see. My wife literally had three kids on her hands. It was so great that we made the same pilgrimage a second time the next year.

The last trip was three years ago. I have friends who visit Mickey every year. Now that's a religious passage.

The happiest place on Earth is paradise. It is commercialized to the hilt. But I can overlook that because the positive traits far outweigh a bit of capitalism.

Thanks to a cartoonist who was a dreamer, and a little black and white mouse, we can have happiness for a couple of fleeting days. Happiness comes at a price. But it is worth it.