A Silhouette to Remember

I generally manage to resist souvenirs and so-called memorabilia from theme parks and other tourist traps (i.e., except for those darling figurines I got from Precious Moments Park in Carthage, Missouri--who could resist children shedding single teardrops, all captured in delicate porcelain?!). I admit, however, that when it comes to Darcy Jo, I tend to splurge. Frequently, I splurge on crap. Walking down Main Street in Disneyland, however, I spent $9 for a cut-out piece of black paper glued to card stock. And it was all for me! Oh yeah--it was for Angela, too. And Granny Mimi.

Now, just look at that! Is there no profile better suited to silhouette...art...-istry?! That noggin! Those curls!

When I was a boy, I remember looking through my mother's big box of family photos and coming across a vintage paper bag from Disneyland. In it were very similar-looking silhouettes of both my mother and father. I remember being pretty much amazed at the detail. I assumed that something like this must have taken forever to create: First, someone took a series of photographs of my parents in profile. They were then told to return at closing time, after the images had been developed and the scissors artist had carefully and faithfully followed the contours of each hair, each characteristic facial curve.

As it turns-out, however, it's nothing like that at all...

We walked into the Main Street shop and, immediately to our left, facing the storefront window, sat a lady dressed in Victorian clothes. I said, "Hello." I think she returned the greeting, but before I could even begin some sort of request for services, I noticed her hands moving. She was looking at Darcy Jo while cutting black paper with what looked like a toenail-grooming scissors. I kid you not, in less than a minute she was done. No photos. No wait. Nine dollars.

Turns-out this woman's been doing this for 35 years. In the same little store on Disneyland's Main Street. With the same scissors, you think? Maybe she even cut-out my young parents' silhouettes (I haven't done the math...). Amazing. As soon as Darcy Jo was finished, another couple with their children came-in. Before I could even finish paying the cashier for my souvenir silhouette, what witch (how else do you explain it?) had finished cutting a faithful profile of a toddler asleep in his stroller. Nine dollars. NEXT!!

Oh, Disneyland...