La Sirenita

When I was 8 years old (in the 3rd grade) a fantastic movie came out: The Little Mermaid. I can still remember the first time I saw it: we were late to the movie and were walking into the theatre just as the orange fish slipped out of the sailor's hand, swam deep into the ocean, and heaved a sigh of relief. When I saw the movie for the first time on video, I was amazed at the entire first musical number that I had missed in the theatre.

For some reason, The Little Mermaid continues to be my favorite Disney movie. I have no clue why. I don't particularly like mermaids, or sailors or boats, or the coral- and sea-foam-green-colored merchandise that goes along with it. I just love the movie. I love the songs and the music (including the horn parts). I love the dog, Max. I love how Ariel's bangs bounce around in front of her forehead like a quail plume. I love the sea witch, Ursula. I love how Eric isn't some wussy pretty-boy but actually does something, like going back to save Max, and taking Ariel on a fun tour of the city, and being okay with her driving, and determining to not lose Ariel even though she's a mermaid again, and throwing a harpoon, and steering a rotting ship into Ursula's abdomen. I mean, what isn't there to love about this movie?

On Saturday I watched it in Spanish. It's a movie I can watch in Spanish easily, since I have the whole thing memorized (more or less) in English. I wonder if Mother Edit hates this movie because I watched it so much when I was little. I've heard that can happen.

And now, here are two mermaid stories for you:

1. We used to have these diving rings that we would throw into our pool and they would sink to the bottom. I liked to put my feet through the rings so they held my ankles together and I could swim like a mermaid. (By the way, swimming like that doesn't actually work too well, and you have to be a pretty good swimmer to not drown with your ankles tied together.)

2. I sometimes used to pretend the house was filled up with water, and I wondered why people didn't live like that. I was convinced that I could actually live underwater if there was a way for me to breathe. Given that I spent many of my summer days in the pool (dinner was merely a blip that occurred between swimming sessions), that isn't too surprising.

I would tell you a third funny mermaid story, but I don't know if Queen Tuffett is still embarrassed about it. I think it's pretty darn cute and hilarious. It happened twenty years ago...