My what a guy, that Gaston!

So, this morning I woke up at about 7 am, after the first great night's sleep in about a week, with this single line inexplicably looping in my head:

"I use antlers in all of my DE-co-ra-ting"

Just that. Over and over again.

"I use antlers in all of my DE-co-ra-ting"
"I use antlers in all of my DE-co-ra-ting"
"I use antlers in all of my DE-co-ra-ting"

OK, fine! So you do. We know. Antler it up. My dad would be proud.

Where in the name of all that is sweet and good did that come from? The worst part is that this particular line is building up to a grand finale...that never comes. Each repetition is like a the promise of a fantastic sneeze that vanishes at the last moment. You get the idea.

I blame the All-Disney-Weekend I recently spent with my brother and the gang down in Albany. Not that I didn't relish singing along with my 4-year-old niece Lucy to every song from The Little Mermaid. I mean, moments like that are what I was made for. Truly. But I was not prepared for the lingering aftermath.

And why that particular line from that particular song? Beats me. I've never really been a Beauty and the Beast kind of guy, and to be honest, the only line from that song that ever really got my attention was when Gaston announces that every last inch if him's covered with hair. Oh really?


Speaking of Disney, I guess the new Broadway production of The Little Mermaid has gotten crap reviews, not for the cast so much as for the stiff, plastic production itself, patently reaching out to wring whatever it can from the theater-going kindergarten market. I couldn't get to New York to see John Doyle's production of Company, but toddlers are dragging their parents the the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre for two hours under the sea, brought to you by Playskool.

But I did find a clip online last weekend that I got to watch with Lucy, which was a joy. The look of amazement on her face to see Ariel as a real person singing Part of Your World was just magical. Lucy said "and she's singing my song!" Of course, we had to watch it together three or four times. Such a shame that my computer stopped working after that. Must have been the battery.

And I'm sure Lucy's not the only one. My old college roommate Jay was more than a little smitten with Ariel. He slept with a Little Mermaid poster over his bed. Yes, over his bed. It was on the wall, not on the ceiling, but the rest of us kept our distance from it nevertheless .