Finding Advil

This weekend, we took our niece and nephew to see the Disney show on ice, Finding Nemo ...along with twelve million other screaming kids. No need to turn off the cell phone here. You could have an amp the size of Mt. Rushmore hooked up to it and you still wouldn't hear it go off.

Act I (the headache begins--want Advil)
Cotton candy and sno-cones. Oh Goody. Wet and sticky little fingers covered with pink and blue food coloring. But hey, they give you one whole wet wipe the size of a postage stamp to help.

Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy skate onto the ice to introduce the story, but first...they promote their next ice show. Wow. Thanks for the heads up. We might have missed getting this vital information from the ads in the program, the people greeting us in the lobby with the flyers, or the announcements over the PA system.

Finally though, the show begins. And so do the questions from our four year old nephew. "Where did Goofy go? Is he coming back? Why did he leave? Is that Nemo? Where is Nemo? Why do they have rocks on the ice? What are those things? Why are the sharks chasing them? Is that scary scuba man? What did he do with Nemo? Why does he want Nemo? Why doesn't he take his mask off? Why is his mask on the ice? What happened to Nemo? Is Goofy coming back?"

Fortunately, the child behind up interrupted the inquisition for brief periods of time by randomly shreiking, "Nemo!" at the top of his lungs...in my ear.

Intermission (the headache builds--must have Advil)
Popcorn, giant pretzels, two spilled melted sno-cones, napkins stuck to shoes, shoes stuck to floor, pants (thank goodness they were Tom's and not mine this time) stuck to leg.

Act II (forget Nemo-- Find Advil. Now.)
We resume playing twenty (120) questions.

"Are the turtles good or bad? Why isn't Dory moving? What's wrong with Marlin? Is that whale going to eat them? Why are the other fish doing that? Is that the mean niece? Why did she kill him? What are those things? How are they going to get out of there? Is the bird going to eat them? Where is Goofy?"

Apparently, "wait and see" and "I don't know" are not acceptable responses to these questions.

Oh, and once again, the Nemo fan club behind me shared his enthusiasm for the show.

Finale (Advil. Advil. Advil.)
Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and, yes, Goofy reappear just in time to satisfy Tommy and make another pitch for the next show (Yes, we know. Our niece reminded us every ten to fifteen minutes about all the wonderful upcoming events we can't miss. Thanks anyway.).

At last it is over and we fight our way through a tide of sugar-crazed kids humming the Mickey Mouse song trailed by bedraggled parents wondering how large the trap would have to be to silence Mickey once and for all.

Somehow, I think I might not be the only one looking for Advil.