Reliving Fond Memories
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I was never much for hobbies. As a cartoonist, my work was my hobby. Though I appreciated the single minded enthusiasm hobbyists had for trains, planes, automobiles and boats, it seemed time could be better spent. And I was so confident in my ignorant assessment. What did I know?

After a long, exhausting day at Disneyland, my wife and I lurched over to the Lost Bar. We sat and relaxed while the sun was setting and the orange turned to red then purple. It was a time of day when the families had taken the children out of the heat and into the pools. The wet padding of feet, young kids wrapped in towels, going back to the hotels to meet with their parents and head back to the parks for dinner. It was a time of transition, going from day to dusk, the children readying themselves for an evening of fun.

Outside the bar was a small pond ringed with white steering wheels. Kids and adults were very intent on what was happening in the pond. The fathers were giving instructions to the kids, who gripped the wheels, too small to see directly into the pond. Smaller siblings ran around the perimeter, pointing and giggling. Taking my ginger ale with me, I let my curiosity get the best of me.

In the water were radio controlled boats, about fifteen of them. They looked like the classic Jungle Cruise boats with the striped awning. By dropping tokens, the proxy skippers used the steering wheels to maneuver the small boats around in the pond. In the center of the pond was a small mountain with a tunnel for the more adept to pilot the boat through.

I walked slowly around the rim of the pond, my mouth open. I was stunned, and hadn't really seen anything like it before. Sure, I had seen radio control before. Children up the street guiding tiny four wheel drive trucks between the tired of their parked cousins. I remember my Grandfather building model planes, taking them out and flying them. That was a popular hobby in the fifties and sixties. Tomorrowland even had an area for that when the park first opened.

Radio controlled boats I had not seen in person and the bug bit hard. I bought some tokens and tried it myself. I dropped the token. I looked for my numbered boat, and the green light lit up atop it, ready for action. Piloting was much harder than I thought. They had a mind of their own, and the controls needed a light touch. I’d pull the lever into reverse to slow down the boat, steering to avoid a collision, throwing the motor into forward. I even attempted to guide my boat through the tunnel. I managed to do it after several frustrating tries. The boat would get tied up outside the entrance, banging into the side of the mountain, brushing alongside. Soon an hour passed by, and my wife and friend came by to wonder where I had vanished. They soon were laughing at my new obsession.

I never knew what hobbies were all about until that day. Now I knew better and the world was a little rosier in that single hour. I discovered something new: I loved radio control boats. I loved gliding them over the surface of the water, so many natural forces playing against you. Despite the gravity, the waves, the give and take of the rudder, the lack of friction. I learned to navigate heroically across the pond without crashing into another boat. It took time, and a lot of tense teeth grinding, but the payoff was worth it.

Later, I received a roll of tokens at Christmas. Though it was silly, it was actually one of the better presents. I haven’t used them all yet. I don’t want to use them all up idly. I usually wait till I am fully in the mood, then walk over to the Disneyland Hotel and play for awhile. A great way to forget my tired feet and tomorrow’s deadlines.

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-- David Mink

-- Posted June 17, 2004