The pictures in this post are not social media perfect because they were taken in 1999 before the rise of the flawless filter. These pictures were taken with my Vivitar camera, and the rolls of negatives were dropped off at an Eckerd’s photo and pharmacy store for development. Do you remember Eckerd stores? That is about how old I am. Years later, after the rolls had long been developed, and pictures shared, I made a scrapbook for my then boyfriend, now husband. The album contained memories of Homecoming, Prom and our first trip to Disney. The pictures in this post are from that trip to Orlando in January 1999. The young man you see in the photo with my husband is Gabby, and he is my husband’s cousin. He is Argentine. My husband is half-Argentine on his mother’s side.
Back in 1999, Gabby visited my husband’s family. Coming all the way from Argentina, he wanted to experience one thing in particular, Disney World. So, on a cold weekend in January, a group of us went to Orlando to take in all that Universal Studios and Disney had to offer. I cannot begin to tell you how thrilled I was. I was going to Disney World for the first time with my boyfriend. The idea of Magic Kingdom, the castle, the rides, and the Mickey ice cream with the boy I was gaga over was delightful.
We hopped into my boyfriend’s Camaro z28 for the four-hour drive from Miami to Orlando. In my husband’s V8, we may have made it in three hours but don’t tell anyone. Our first stop was Universal Studios. The picture above is from that day. We rode Earthquake, saw the shows, and took pictures with Marilyn Monroe. What I remember most was how much Gabby loved Jaws. When we rode it, he was all smiles and kept saying, “Wow!” When we got off the ride, we all marveled at how close the flames of the fire felt and how the explosion that rocked the boat was incredible. We had a great time at our first theme park.
The next day we went to Waffle House in the morning before heading to Magic Kingdom. We spoke about the previous day and everything we would get to do that day. We knew Magic Kingdom would be a long day, so we had a hearty breakfast to maximize our time in the park. I recall how much we were enjoying one another’s company. I reminisce about how we chatted that maybe one day we would visit Argentina and they would take us to a few places to explore.
As we rode the monorail to the park, I can still recall, even today, how excited Gabby was to see the castle. Magic Kingdom will do that to even a grown man. He was all smiles and snapping pictures.
That day was unusually cold, especially for Florida. The cold weather was perfect for my first trip with my boyfriend to the park. It required cuddling, hot chocolate and plenty of hugs. I could not have asked for better weather to experience Magic Kingdom for the first time with my love.
The day was, pun intended, pure magic. We all rode the Haunted Mansion and giggled like five-year-olds. On Pirates of the Caribbean, we immersed ourselves in the sights and sounds of pirate life. We got to know one another more as we waited in lines and shared stories. Back in 1999, people did not stare down at their phones the entire time while waiting in line. We got to know Gabby pretty well that day.
At that time, my husband did not ride roller coasters. When it came to Space Mountain, I rode with Gabby. I remember how we put our hands up, laughed, and yelled throughout our experience of traveling through space at over 25 miles per hour. We laughed excessively. It was and still is a beautiful memory.
We drove back to Miami and said our goodbyes. Gabby would be leaving soon back to Argentina, and we were not sure if we would see him again during his trip to the States. He reiterated again that we should visit Argentina. We said we would. At the time, I had no idea if I would marry my then-husband, but I loved the idea of visiting Argentina. We had such a wonderful time that I knew should we ever get to Argentina; Gabby would be a great host.
That would be the last time we saw Gabby. As you can imagine, life got busy. Our lives took many different twists and turns, and well, we just never made it Argentina to see Gabby again. Gabby passed away recently at the age of forty-two. He has a two-year-old daughter. He fought cancer bravely, and he enjoyed the time he was given with those he loved most before passing on to his next journey.
Some people come into your life for a season. They come into your life like a wave and crash violently into your story. Then, they are gone. Some people come into your life for what feels like a lifetime. You cannot remember what your life was like before them and could not picture your future without them. Some people come into your life for a night or a weekend. They are the people we share a memorable experience with but we may not see again. That experience could be a few hours to maybe a few days.
Gabby was such an experience for us. I say for us because Gabby is part of an incredibly special memory of my love story with my husband. We only saw Gabby that one weekend but what a special weekend it was.
Gabby is the person behind the camera who took this picture of us:
He is the one that shared in my experience of my first time in Magic Kingdom with my now husband. He was there when we giggled, smiled, cuddled in the cold and shared that Mickey ice cream. Gabby will not be able to tell his daughter about his first time at Disney World, but I will. I will be sure to tell her how much he relished in the twist and turns of the rides. How grateful he was for the experience. How he laughed and smiled for two days straight. How he rode Space Mountain without fear and raised his arms without abandon for three minutes straight.
Gabby tried to get my husband to ride Space Mountain to no avail, and I remember he said, “Bueno cuando vengas a Argentina tienes que montar algo así!” which translates to, “When you come to Argentina, you have to ride something like this!”
Gabby, I want you to know that Guillermo rides all kinds of roller coasters now. He puts his hands up, yells, smiles and laughs just as you did on Space Mountain. I hope that wherever you are, you are doing the same thing right now.
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