Feeling like Thomas O'Malley
Did anyone ever get attached to that nominal Disney flick, "The Aristocats"? I really enjoyed that one as a kid. I'm thinking about it because I've been feeling very wander-y and exploratory and unsettled lately. Somehow my brain connected those feelings to the song that Thomas O'Malley, the alley cat, used to introduce himself to the mama cat and kiddo cats that will become his family by the end of the movie. I don't know if that's realistic at all to feline behavior, but, I digress.
The part of the song I'm thinking of goes,
I've got that wanderlust
Gotta walk the scene
Gotta kick up highway dust
Feel the grass that's green
First of all, wanderlust? I don't think anyone uses that word anymore. But I can identify with the message of O'Malley the alley cat, if not with his vocab. I want to get out there and see new things and meet new people. I'm just realizing that this connects me to some other Disney characters as well. Belle - she wants adventure in the great wide somewhere! Ariel - what would she pay to spend a day out of these waters? That car voiced by Owen Wilson - Life is a highway! And so on. Maybe my desires are just coming from the psychologizing effect of Disney films.
Aaron and I talked recently about having that impulse to apply for jobs far away and see where it takes us. That's so hard to think about, because we love our families, our friends, and the students we work with. Maybe this is a fever that hits one during the mid-twenties? Can anyone relate?
Kickin' up highway dust,
Amanda the alley cat
The part of the song I'm thinking of goes,
I've got that wanderlust
Gotta walk the scene
Gotta kick up highway dust
Feel the grass that's green
First of all, wanderlust? I don't think anyone uses that word anymore. But I can identify with the message of O'Malley the alley cat, if not with his vocab. I want to get out there and see new things and meet new people. I'm just realizing that this connects me to some other Disney characters as well. Belle - she wants adventure in the great wide somewhere! Ariel - what would she pay to spend a day out of these waters? That car voiced by Owen Wilson - Life is a highway! And so on. Maybe my desires are just coming from the psychologizing effect of Disney films.
Aaron and I talked recently about having that impulse to apply for jobs far away and see where it takes us. That's so hard to think about, because we love our families, our friends, and the students we work with. Maybe this is a fever that hits one during the mid-twenties? Can anyone relate?
Kickin' up highway dust,
Amanda the alley cat
posted by Amanda Lane at 12:20 PM
4 Comments:
Ummm...yeah. I've been telling you to move to the Northwest FOREVER!!! ;0) If you move to Texas, the South, or North Carolina, I'd still approve. ;0)
So just not the Midwest or Northeast? Gotcha. You crack me up!
I was wondering what the title of your post meant because I used to work with a Tom O'Malley. I thought to myself: "How does Amanda know Tom?" Funny.
Glad to see a new post from you. Been wondering how you've been doing.
Amanda, if you and AMR are interested in moving around and doing new things, now is the time. By that I mean, you both are young and kidless. Now is the time to take advantage of that. Once the kids come, it's a lot harder to do. It's not impossible, but your priorities will change at that point.
Kudos to you. I think I was like that in my 20s as well, to a certain an extent. I was just too chicken to act on it. :-)
Have a great weekend!
I admit to a regular impulse to pick up and leave everything. See what it's like to live in New England or Europe, you know. Maybe it's my way of reminding myself that I'm not being forced against my will to live in a place that hardly sees the sun for 6 months of the year. If I REALLY wanted to leave, I could, but I haven't, so there's obviously something I want more than to leave right now. I will leave, though, believe you me. I love being young.
Post a Comment
<< Home