On Assignment: Disneyland!

August 26, 2019 blog, journalism, travel No comments

I’ve been writing for Alaska Beyond, the inflight magazine of Alaska Airlines, for many years. But unlike some airline magazines, Alaska Beyond, which is published by a company that is separate from the airline, rarely sends writers anywhere. I never got sent on an out-of-town assignment.

Breakfast at Disneyland

Until last week.

I couldn’t believe it when the magazine asked me if I would like to go to Disneyland. What a question. Of course! I love Disneyland!

It was fun writing to friends to report, “I’m in Disneyland. Working.”

In fact, I worked so hard during my three days in Disneyland that I gained five pounds. (I dropped them as soon as I returned to my own Spartan lifestyle, that is, no more appetizers before practically every meal, no more desserts after practically every meal, and no more appetizers between every meal.) Very nice people from Disney’s public relations department took me and a small group of journalists through Disneyland and its sister park, Disney California Adventure, as well as the Downtown Disney restaurant and

Millennium Falcon, Docked

shopping district, to check out all that was new or fairly new.

 

The last time I visited Disneyland was in 2015, and in just four years there have been a lot of changes and additions. The one addition generating the most buzz is Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, which opened May 31. I was perhaps the wrong person to report on this new Disneyland attraction; I’m not really up to date on Star Wars movies, books or video games. Some of the character and place names on the Planet Batuu were lost on me.

Still, I could appreciate the effort put into conceiving and then making this desert-like area inhabited by alien creatures of all sorts. Even the creation of the marketplace required that designers do hands-on research in the ancient souks of Marrakesh, Morocco. They managed to capture the exotic feel of centuries-old shopping bazaars I have visited in Turkey and Iran.

The Marketplace

The various droids–some round, some angular–looked and sounded familiar to me. I even got to make my own pint-sized droid and take it home with me after a visit to the Droid Depot. Another workshop allows visitors to make their own lightsabers.

I got another dose of Star Wars when I tried out The VOID, a new addition to Downtown Disney that offers virtual reality encounters with Darth Vader and his Storm Troopers. With

At The VOID

an oculus rift headset in place, and a blaster in hand, I surely did the rebel forces proud. Afterwards, one of my teammates said, “You were so brave!” What can I say? The Force was with me.

A new restaurant that looked very familiar to me was Portland’s own Salt & Straw, which has spread its fantastic gourmet ice cream beyond Oregon’s borders. There was also a fun restaurant called Splitsville that has 20 bowling lanes. I bought an irresistible Mickey/Minnie purse at the World of Disney

Me (on left) with Disney PR peeps

and got inspired to dust off my sewing machine after browsing at the cute Disney Dress Shop.

The Disney Dress Shop

One evening, when our group watched the World of Color— the light, sound and water show next to Pixar Pier in California Adventure–I confess to feeling a bit emotional. Flashed before us, amid the 1200 gushing fountains and the swirling colors, were scenes from the long history of Disney films, accompanied by music from some of my favorites.

It occurred to me that every American alive today, except for those who have lived as hermits, is fondly familiar with much of that music and many of the movie scenes. We all have that in common. It’s like the soundtrack of our nation. On that night, sitting under a full moon and watching the show illuminate the faces of all the viewers, I felt a real bond with Disney lovers from coast to coast.

I doff my hat (Minnie Mouse ears hat, to be exact) to Alaska Beyond for giving me the opportunity to not only enjoy a wonderful experience, but to write about it. Look for my article in the October 2019 issue.

My Tattoo

June 22, 2018 art No comments

For years I was tempted to get a tattoo. In Portland a tattoo seems to be part of the accepted tribal regalia. Even at my age, I figured any body art would just help me blend in

“She flies with her own wings”

with the highly decorated populace.

What gave me pause was my dread of prolonged pain for the hour or so the tattoo process would last. I also harbored a fear of operator error: What if the tattoo artist had a tremor? What if he or she was a lousy artist?

I already knew what words I wanted to use in permanently altering my epidermis. When a fitness instructor at my gym told me that the Latin words tattooed on her upper deltoid were actually the words of the Oregon State Motto, I thought, “Why not have that in plain English?” So, the decision was made at that moment. Someday I would get a tattoo that included the words “She flies with her own wings.”

And this being Portland, I was also inspired to put a bird on it. My initial thought was to have a Western Meadowlark (the Oregon State Bird) attached to the motto, but I feared its yellow and tan plumage would not stand out. So, just to liven up the design, I resolved to add a burst of color with a red-breasted bluebird.

The next task was to find a tattoo artist, one who was good at drawing birds. I started visiting websites of Portland tattoo parlors. Someone suggested attending a Tattoo Expo in Portland and choosing someone who was exhibiting there. However, I ended up finding my wonderful tattoo artist purely through happenstance.

Atlas Tattoo Studio

I was invited to a media event at a bar on North Albina Avenue. When I looked up the address on Google Maps, I noticed Atlas Tattoo Studio was just down the block. I checked out their website and perused some of the sample artwork. After perhaps too many cocktails I popped in and made an appointment with Brian Paul, whose birds I thhad judged to be exceptionally good.

When the day of my appointment arrived, I was as nervous as could be. Friends had warned me that I would suffer excruciating pain, or that I would be stuck with a visual disaster, complete with misspellings. Brian turned on his electric needle and I began my Lamaze breathing. Not long into the process, I accepted the fact that I could actually relax and enjoy it. I felt absolutely no pain at all. Brian carefully followed an ink template on my upper left deltoid and after a short break, he applied the color.

The entire process lasted about an hour and cost $160. Brian added decorative touches

Taking a break before Brian adds the color.

that brought the design to life. For example, he turned the motto into a parchment scroll that was being pulled through the air by the bird. As Brian was working his magic on my upper arm, I asked him if Atlas, this tattoo studio I had stumbled upon, was highly rated. “It’s the best,” he stated, and said that when he moved back to Oregon from New York, it was the only place he wanted to work. I congratulated myself on my excellent taste in tattoo parlors!

After coddling and caring for my healing skin for about two weeks, I unveiled my new tattoo for public viewing. I love it! How about you?

The finished product!

Interviewing Ursula Le Guin

January 29, 2018 books, personalities, writing One comment

The death of Ursula Le Guin on January 22 made me sad over our loss of the doyenne of Portland writers, but also put me in a nostalgic mood for the day in 1991 that I interviewed her for a People magazine profile. My story ran on November 18 of that year.

She invited me to her home on Northwest Thurman Street, where we sat outside and talked about her childhood. Raised by anthropologists who were particularly interested in nearly extinct Native American tribes, Ursula remembered a home that was full of activity from her three brothers and from a constant stream of Indians, one of whom, Ishi, was the subject of her mother’s famous book, Ishi in Two Worlds.

She showed me where she usually sat to write, on her porch overlooking the Willamette River. She wrote longhand on tablets and later entered her writing onto her computer in her office, which was on the top floor of the sprawling house.

As we parted, I asked if there was someone from whom she would like me to request a quote. She answered, “Joyce Carol Oates.” I gulped, said, “No problem,” and later panicked. I had no idea how to reach her. Fortunately, at the same time that I was a People correspondent, I was also a regular contributor to The Wall Street Journal’s Leisure & Arts Page. I called my editor there, Ray Sokolov.

No problem, he said. He and Joyce were currently both on a Pulitzer Prize judging panel and he could give me her home number. “Don’t tell her where you got the number,” he said.

Later I called Ursula to tell her how enthusiastic Ms. Oates had been about her. She was very pleased, but confessed, “I haven’t read a single thing by her!” As an afterthought, she said, “Don’t tell anybody!”

Shortly before the article was to be published, I got a frantic call from a People magazine copy editor. The photographer hadn’t provided much information about where he had photographed Ursula, and they were wondering the name of the “huge mountain” Ursula was sitting near. I knew that she had taken the photographer to her cabin at Cannon Beach, but nobody had said anything to me about going to the mountains for photos.

That was before the Internet, however, so the editor couldn’t share the photo with me electronically. I had to wait until the magazine hit the stands. I hurried to Rich’s Cigar Store, opened a copy and saw Ursula sitting in front of . . . Haystack Rock.

As Ursula would have said, with a sad shake of her head, “Those Easterners!”

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